Amor Vincit Omnia
by brandy01
Summary: Hermione Granger takes on the task of becoming Severus Snape's apprentice shortly after the beginning of her Seventh year. After completing her N.E.W.T's, ending a relationship, and battling everything Snape could throw at her, what is left for her? SSHG.
1. Part One

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part One

There are always different ways to misinterpret situations, but the easiest are to make assumptions from what you see. And what Severus Snape often saw in his Potions classroom at Hogwarts left him with little doubt that this particular generation of wizards, were complete and total dunderheads.

All except for one of the students in his Seventh year, N.E.W.T level Potions class, could not brew a potion to perfection if their lives were at stake. And even that lone student, although brilliant, which he admitted grudgingly, would merely be wasted potential if she did not survive the war that was slowly encroaching in on their lives.

He glared out at his Potions class and let the glare rest on the face of Ronald Weasley. He hated this boy even more than the Boy-who-just-lived-to-torment-him. Sneering, he waved a hand, and wandlessly the instructions for the lesson appeared on the board.

'See that you pay special attention to your cauldrons this lesson,' he drawled. 'I will not accept botched-up work, and you will receive an automatic fail for the day if you even attempt to present me with such.'

Everyone began to make their potions. It was a simple Memory Enhancing Potion, which was fairly tame for their first N.E.W.T. Potions class for the year. No objections, no whining. Just the way he liked it. If he wasn't so brusque with them, there was no doubt in his mind that they would be whining at him to no end like they did to every other professor.

But as if it were not enough that he even had to teach teenagers, the very bane of his existence began her daily torture of him. A distinctly feminine-looking, well-manicured hand shot up into the air. He looked straight at Hermione Granger with a piercing glare, but she didn't shrink away as she once did when she was an eleven-year-old child. Instead, she remained neutral but just as insistent on gaining his attention.

Severus decided it would be easiest if he just ignored her. Maybe it would go away? But apparently the girl didn't know when to give up. Hermione, determined to get a response, called out 'Professor?' in an exasperated voice.

Snape couldn't ignore her now. Blast the determined little witch to no end! 'Yes, Miss Granger?' he answered bluntly.

'Sir, the Memory Enhancing Potion does not have any daisy root in it. It has root of asphodel,' she pointed out, gesturing at the error on the board.

Severus sneered. She actually had the fortitude to wave her hand about in the air, interrupt him when he was busy, and then correct him in front of his entire class? He was positively fuming. How could she go from being the submissive little know-it-all, to a bold, young Gryffindor lioness in one summer?

Mentally scolding himself for his internal battle, and for not responding to her earlier, he chose to favor the girl with a look of disdain. 'Thank you for your input, Miss Granger, however, we at Hogwarts do not give out brownie points for being insufferable know-it-all's,' he snarked.

This made the Slytherin's chuckle with glee, while Harry-Bloody-Potter and his pet weasel became red with anger on her behalf. Miss Granger, however, seemed unaffected by his insult, and only spun around to warn her two friends off making a scene. How was she so resistant to his scorn?

'I do not want to hear any of you for the rest of the lesson!' he barked at the Slytherin's, who cringed under his glare.

Thankfully for him, not all of his students were as resilient as Miss Granger. He silently looked over the classroom, wordlessly made the correction to the board, and went back to checking his class plans for the next week. Everything became silent again, which was just how he liked it.

That was, of course, until a loud bang erupted through the classroom.

When he looked up, Snape saw that nearly half the class had been thrown backwards off their stools. Ironically, he had actually been waiting for that to happen. It just wasn't Potions without Neville Longbottom fucking something up. Call it a ritual if you would. Cauldron number one for that school year could well and truly be crossed off the list. The question remaining was, just how had he managed it this time?

'Mr. Longbottom, would you care to explain why half of my classroom is now covered in your sorry excuse for a potion?' he asked, just as he began to sense that something was amiss.

'Hermione!' Neville yelled, throwing his potion-covered self to the ground where she was writhing around in pain before she stopped, unconscious.

Snape was there in an instant, bending down to the girl and checking her for a pulse. He found it, but it was significantly weaker than normal. She was covered in a red, painful-looking rash, and had become quite pale. He looked up to see that the rest of the students in the class had gathered round.

'What are you all standing there for? Someone go and alert the Matron to ready a bed, you idiots!' he roared. Harry darted out of the room quickly.

He lifted the limp girl into his arms and stood up, making his way out of the classroom. He paused in the doorway and turned back momentarily barking out, 'The rest of you will stay here and clean this mess. When it is spotless, you are dismissed!'

He rushed to the Hospital Wing with Neville close in tow, trying to walk as fast as he could without losing the bumbling idiot. 'Longbottom, what was the last ingredient you added before your cauldron exploded?' he demanded furiously.

'D-dragon scales, sir,' he stammered.

Dragon scales… Dragon scales…? That wasn't even part of the blasted potion. The Granger girl was allergic to dragon scales. He snorted in derision. Only Neville Longbottom could botch a potion and explode a cauldron all over the classroom with the only ingredient that Hermione Granger was allergic to in it.

They burst into the hospital wing and Madame Pomfrey ushered him to the nearest bed that she had prepared. 'What happened, Severus?' she asked frantically.

'A cauldron exploded,' he said, giving Neville a dark look, 'and Miss Granger was exposed to the contents of said cauldron. I am afraid that she is having an allergic reaction to dragon scales.'

Poppy rushed off, but returned mere moments later with a number of potions and salves in her arms. 'Severus, I may need your help, however, you two boys,' she said, looking at Harry and Neville, 'may leave now,' she finished sternly.

They left immediately, and Snape was handed a potion. 'Make sure she swallows all of this while I apply the salve,' she commanded softly.

Severus put the vial to her mouth and coaxed her jaw open with his long fingers. He tipped the potion in smoothly, and then massaged her neck so that she could swallow. Her swallowing reflexes were not functioning in her unconsciousness. Once he had finished that, he helped apply the balm to her neck and face and cleaned the Potion from her robe.

'_Enerverate_' Poppy said, pointing her wand at Hermione's chest.

Her eyes flew open, and reflexively, she tried to sit up. Snape braced her down with a hand on each of her shoulders. 'Don't try and get up just yet, Miss Granger. You're weak from your ordeal,' he said quietly.

The Matron did a check, nodded, then left to get Hermione some chocolate. Hermione looked up at Snape fondly. Was she insane? The next thing he heard was her saying something to him.

'I'm sorry, Professor. And thank you,' she said, leaning up and giving him a swift kiss on the cheek. Snape was so numb with shock, he didn't even notice as his feet carried him out of the hospital wing.

It had been a long day, and now what he really needed was a shower, a drink, and maybe even some sleep.

--

Some things were harder to believe than others, and Severus Snape had found himself the victim of one of the most unbelievable things to occur in his life. Firstly, Hermione Granger had gone out of her way to thank him for doing his duty. And then she had kissed him, even if it was only a peck on the cheek. That kind of thing was inexcusable.

She had become a complete mystery to him lately, and never failed in surprising him further with her newfound abilities. Why, just two days before she had astounded him in the library using wandless magic to levitate a book to herself.

Only he, in the entire history of Hogwarts, had ever managed to accomplish full control over his wandless magic by his seventh year. And now he and Miss-know-it-all-Granger had another thing in common, apart from their brilliance, love for learning, and need to be surrounded by books.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he stood up and left his office, thundering into his classroom, with his robes billowing behind him dramatically, as was customary. He had a classroom full of bold Gryffindor's and sneaky Slytherin fifth years this period. This lot was okay when they had the sense to keep quiet, which, unfortunately, was not as often as he would have liked.

He sat at his desk and waved a hand, the instructions for the lesson appearing on the board. 'Read the board, take notes and write me a six-inch essay on the topic, due next Monday. Use your Potions texts as a reference or have the sense to go to the library,' he said crisply.

He then settled into his seat. It was finally Friday, and this was thankfully his last class for the first week of the new school year. He was making a good start, leaving out the fact that Longbottom had ritually caused an explosion and nearly killed one of his classmates.

The classroom fell into a state of blissful silence for all of five minutes, before an irritable Gryffindor student raised a hand into the air in a familiarly annoying fashion. He groaned and closed his eyes.

'Yes, Mr. Jennings?' he asked with just a hint of annoyance.

'Is it true that you saved the Head Girl the other day from dying?' Lincoln Jennings asked innocently.

He knew that this would happen. You do one good deed… 'Yes, Mr. Jennings. I assisted Madame Pomfrey with Miss Granger's recovery, however, she was hardly dying,' he replied curtly.

'Oh!' the boy exclaimed slowly, putting his hand out to accept the Galleon that Justin Brown handed to him from down the bench.

Snape frowned. The stupid boy was being dared to ask the fearsome Potions Master a stupid, trivial question about Herm- Miss Granger? How immature…

'Ten points from Gryffindor, Mr. Jennings. And if you can't keep your trap shut for the rest of the lesson, I shall arrange it so that you and Mr. Filch will have some quality time together this evening,' he threatened in a dangerously low voice. 'And that goes for the rest of you twits as well!'

The boy did not speak up for the remainder of class, and even packed his books away in silence when he dismissed them. Snape was then left alone in the empty Potions classroom to brood as he stared at the front row of desks.

Nobody else even dared to sit there except for Miss Granger. She was always there, and either early or on time, with perfect results and flawless potions.

How did she manage it all? He assumed that she didn't have the time turner any longer, as she was already eighteen and no further years had been added to her age to indicate that she was a frequent user. She was actually just like he had been when he attended Hogwarts, except, perhaps with a few more friends. She was, however, uncaring of what her peers thought and not very social, but not anti-social. She was even like that to people in her own house, which showed that, unlike him, she did not hold any House prejudices. But she did read an awful lot, like him.

He was a solitary figure, and was discovering almost daily, that she was just as lone a figure as he was. He felt as if _she_ was fast becoming the first thing he thought about when he wasn't busy.

That was, by no means, a good thing. He really didn't like the girl at all. He just felt as though they shared a few things in common. She meant about as much to him as everyone else at Hogwarts. And that was absolutely nothing at all. He snorted aloud. He really needed to stop trying to make comparisons between her behaviour and his.

Giving himself a mental shake for the second time that day, he picked himself out of his seat and went to his chambers. He dropped into one of his chairs just in time to see the green flames, and Albus Dumbledore's likeness appeared in his fireplace.

'May I come in, Severus?' he asked warmly.

'By all means, Albus,' he said wearily, waving him through and indicating for him to sit. 'Tea?' he offered.

'No, thank you, Severus. I just thought I'd stop by for a little while,' he said kindly.

'What brings you here?' Severus asked directly.

'Ah! Severus, direct as ever,' Albus said with a barely disguised chuckle. Snape gave him a quelling look.

'Well, one of us has to be; the other is obviously trying to run in circles again,' Snape replied haughtily.

'Very well; it concerns the Head Girl, and where her study is going,' he said, weighing his words carefully. 'I would also like to thank you for your care of Miss Granger when you helped Poppy the other day.'

'What's this about her study?' he interrupted, sensing that Albus was trying to skirt around the topic again.

Severus didn't have any patience for another one of Albus' manipulative games that afternoon. And he wasn't about to let the old man start. He simply sat there and waited for the Headmaster to give him a straightforward answer.

'Well, I was rather thinking that it might be beneficial to both yourself and Miss Granger if she were to take her N.E.W.T's now, and continue at Hogwarts as your apprentice,' Dumbledore suggested with as much nonchalance as he dared to have around Snape.

Talk about dropping the bomb on a person. Severus felt he might have been hearing things. 'Pardon me, Headmaster, but did you just say Hermione Granger and Potions Apprentice in the same sentence?' he asked.

'Why yes, I did. Would that be acceptable for you? She is eighteen years old after all, and fully capable of making her own decisions. And she is more than intelligent enough to complete her N.E.W.T's and become a competent Apprentice for you,' Albus argued smoothly.

Snape knew he had been backed into a corner and there was no way out. The old, manipulative geezer was just too damnably convincing for his own good.

'Why not Minerva?' he asked.

'Because I have discussed this with Miss Granger, and she wishes to pursue a Potions Apprenticeship with you, my boy,' Albus replied with a twinkle.

Severus cursed inwardly. He had already had a consultation with the girl, and she, blast the insolent chit, had chosen him as a mentor and Master. Damn and Hell!

'Then you've already decided,' he replied bluntly, which was received with a chuckle from Albus.

--

Most people liked to walk about in the morning sun, and simply enjoy that brief moment of simplicity and peace it brought, with the dew on the grass or the mist in the air. Each and every molecule was just one fresher, newer thing for a day that would soon be polluted with corrupt toxins and human waste. Severus Snape, unfortunately, was not "most people" and was, therefore, not entirely happy about having to escort Hermione Granger to the Ministry for her N.E.W.T's through the dew-slick grass of the grounds in the early morning sun.

'Thank you again for escorting me to the Ministry, Professor,' Hermione said brightly, her eyes seemingly filled with their own light.

Severus ignored her radiant glow, and contented himself with giving her an ominous look of derision. He wouldn't even be escorting the chit if he didn't have to oversee her blasted Potions N.E.W.T. And he only had to do that, because there were no other available Potions masters in the blasted United Kingdom. Personally, he would rather be in his classroom teaching his ungrateful students, than leaving them to vegetate under Albus's instruction.

'It's not a problem, Miss Granger, nor was it my choice,' he replied curtly.

But even that didn't seem to dampen her enthusiasm. The girl was simply incorrigible. What could he possibly say that would permanently drive her away? But still, she seemed to be so genuinely interested in his science and instruction. Why?

'Professor Snape, please spare me those condescending looks. I realize that you are only saying those things to discourage me from pursuing this Apprenticeship. Why is that, sir?' she asked curiously.

Bugger and blast, but she was intuitive. Nobody - and he would quote that later - NOBODY ever saw through one of his facades. He gave a mental groan, and stopped on the pathway.

'Miss Granger, I do not hate you, if that is what you think. However, I do find it extremely hard to believe that you would truly appreciate my company or instruction as your master and colleague. I am a very harsh taskmaster. Would you care to enlighten me on these points?' he asked and answered as honestly as he could.

Hermione nodded, and smiled at his logic. He was feeling as insecure about this Apprenticeship as she was.

'Professor, I am not scared of you. I do not hate you, and if it makes any difference, I have been defending you against Harry and Ron. Do you understand how hard that is for me? Can you not see that I respect you? I respect your work, and I am grateful for everything you do for us. That is why I have chosen you as my mentor,' she answered. It was as much a truth as she was telling him for now.

Severus could only nod, and continued the trek away from the castle. They made the rest of their journey to the school gates in silence, and only when they arrived, did he turn to face her.

'Are you able to Apparate yet?' he asked shortly.

'I have my license, but I haven't had much opportunity to practice yet,' she replied, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious because of her lack of skill in that certain magical ability as of yet.

'Come here then. We shall have to do so in tandem,' he said exasperatedly, extending his arms to her and drawing her as close as was comfortably possible. He didn't want to have to touch her so informally, but the moment called for it. She looked up at him in surprise, but accepted this small intimacy in any case. It was sort of comforting.

They disappeared with a pop, and reappeared in the central foyer of the Ministry. She nearly toppled over from feeling dizzy, but was caught roughly by Severus who steadied her on her feet, before completely removing his person from hers.

'Come,' he commanded in his classroom voice, beginning to walk off without her once more in the direction of the Ministry's East Wing. Hermione had to admit that he was beginning to become a tad annoying. She almost had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

They made it to a door that was almost as impressive as the Great Oak front doors at Hogwarts, except this one was made of mahogany and was built on a smaller scale. Severus opened them and ushered her inside quickly. They were late. He closed the door after letting himself inside. The rest of the exam overseers were there already, waiting for them.

'We apologize for our lateness. We were regrettably detained,' he said formally, but shot a look at Hermione as if to say it was her fault they were late. She was going to talk to him about that silent accusation later, but for now, she would have to remain in her place.

The oldest wizard stepped forward and beckoned Severus to join the rest of the assembled examiners. This left Hermione to stand alone in the middle of the room. 'Miss Hermione Granger, are you ready to begin your testing?' he asked kindly.

Hermione nodded mutely, unable to appropriate the right words to say. She stepped forward and rested her heart hand over the Ministry N.E.W.T. rules and guidelines book that the older wizard held.

'Please answer my questions with 'I do so intend', if that is your true answer,' he said formally. 'Do you intend to follow every rule set by the Ministry in relation to your N.E.W.T testing?'

'I do so intend.'

'And do you intend to uphold this bond and not cheat, nor ignore orders while doing these tests?'

'I do so intend.'

'And do you, Hermione Granger, intend to remain at the Ministry until you have completed all of your exams to the best of you ability?' he asked finally.

'I do so intend,' she replied quietly.

'Wonderful! Now let's get started. What exam would you like to complete first?' he asked with a reassuring smile. Hermione tugged her bottom lip between her teeth in a nervous gesture, and felt her stomach squirm in anticipation.

'May I start with Arithmancy? It promises to be the longest one,' she asked, explaining her choice briefly.

A shorter, rounder woman with a cheery face stepped out of the throng of adult witches and wizards. 'Follow me to the next room, dear,' she said, sounding just like motherly Molly Weasley.

Hermione followed and soon after, she had completed all but one of her exams, feeling, with no doubts, as though she had passed them. This just left her with the Potions examination. She was now beginning to feel that she should not have left this one to last, but was definitely eager to get it done.

She followed Snape through to the back room that she had become fairly well acquainted with throughout the day. She looked around, and found that this room was an almost exact replica of her Potions classroom at Hogwarts. She looked up at Snape in question.

'It is easier on the mind when one is in a familiar environment,' he sad simply, taking a seat at his desk. 'You may begin when you are ready.'

Hermione looked at the ingredients, and it didn't take too long for her to determine the Potion that she would have to make from them. She made the Blood Replenishing Potion with ease and did the written tasks while it cooled, before bottling a sample and taking it to Snape's desk. She announced her completion, before promptly fainting onto the floor.

Snape stood from his seat quickly and scooped Hermione up into his arms, as he had only two weeks before, and carried her out of the room. He decided that it would be easier just to take her back to Hogwarts and have her treated by Poppy, and so he left with the passed-out Head Girl and Apparated back to the gates.

She was going to feel the bumps from that fall in the morning.

--

A/N – This is a story that I wrote about two and a half years ago now, so if it's terrible, blame it on my younger self. It is complete, and each part will be posted as it has been beta'd.


	2. Part Two

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Two

The windows of the Great Hall clicking open and the sound of owls fluttering and swooping in and making soft hooting noises, alerted the occupants to the arrival of the morning post. Hermione looked up just in time to see the owl drop a package onto her lap at the table.

Severus saw this from the staff table, and couldn't miss the Ministry seal on the massive envelope. This was it. His last day of freedom before the Headmaster pawned off his favorite Head Girl onto him as an Apprentice. He groaned as she pulled her N.E.W.T. results out of the envelope, going a little pale. He was officially stuck with her for the next eighteen months now.

Dumbledore, from right next to him, beckoned the girl to the table with a crooked old finger. She approached shyly, obviously, to Snape, not feeling too comfortable with all of the attention she was receiving.

'Miss Granger, would you mind if I read these results out?' Albus asked warmly.

Hermione shook her head and handed them over to him. The old man stood and cleared his throat. 'The N.E.W.T. results of one Hermione Jane Granger are as follows; Transfiguration 100; Herbology 98; Astronomy 99; Arithmancy 100; Ancient Runes 100; Muggle Studies 100; Charms 100; Defense against the Dark Arts 100; Potions 110,' he said in an appraising voice.

Hermione smiled shyly at the student body, her peers, as they loudly applauded her achievements. Outwardly, she was as cool and calm as ever, but Severus saw right through that façade and automatically knew that she was really having fits on the inside. And then he stopped thinking about her because the obnoxious Gryffindor table was getting a little out-of-control with their wild cheering.

'Well done, Miss Granger,' Severus remarked dryly, giving her a bored look.

'Yes, but I suppose, Severus my boy, we should be calling her Madame Apprentice now,' Albus chuckled.

'I suppose so,' Snape said, as Hermione blushed as she looked down at her apprenticeship approval.

The cheering did eventually die down, and Hermione managed to escape the Great Hall, despite the large number of newfound admirers. She somehow reached the Head common room and pushed the portrait shut behind her. She turned around, only to find Harry, Ginny and Ron already there, waiting for her with their arms folded across their chests and expectant faces.

'Mione, why didn't you tell us you were taking your N.E.W.T's early?' Harry asked quietly.

'It's a long story, and not a very interesting one,' she replied.

'We have enough time before WE have to go to class,' Ron accused irritably. 'And while you explain that, you might want to tell us what part Snape has in this?'

'Right,' Hermione sighed, sitting down on one of her couches. It was promising to be a long morning. 'I didn't tell you anything because I didn't want to bother you lot about it.'

'And Snape?' Harry prompted.

'I am going to be staying at Hogwarts as an apprentice. _Professor_ Snape is my master and mentor,' she quipped, putting an emphasis on Snape's title.

'Why Potions, Mione?' Ginny piped, speaking for the first time that morning.

'Because I love Potions; it is one of my favorite subjects. Not to mention it was my best N.E.W.T. result. Besides, the apprentice idea was Professor Dumbledore's,' she added flippantly. 'This brings me to the next point. I will have to spend vacations with Professor Snape as part of my course.'

'What?' all three of them exclaimed loudly.

'Calm down. The apprenticeship only lasts for 18 months before I become a mistress myself, provided I pass my final examinations,' she said, and before they could open their mouths to reply, she spoke again. 'I'm sure that I'll have weekends off and we can all spend time together then.'

'Wow!' Ginny said with a smile.

'But, as of now, I am practically your teacher,' she added, wondering if Ron would get that hint.

'You're mental if you're going to be Snape's apprentice. But if you want to, I suppose I can't argue,' Ron said, trying to claim a hug, and possibly even more.

Hermione put an arm out and stopped him from coming any closer. Apparently he was as dense as ever. 'Stop it, Ron. I'm part of the Hogwarts faculty now and we can't see each other like that,' she said calmly, trying to reason with one of her errant best friends.

Ron stepped back rather angrily and looked at her with disgust. 'I can't believe it! You're seriously going to chose Snape over me?' he said incredulously.

'Believe that if you want, but I like to see it as choosing what I want in the hopes that my friends will support me! But if you're going to be such a self-absorbed prat, then yes, I am choosing Professor Snape over you!' Hermione spat acidly. She had already had enough of Ron, and now it was just getting ridiculous. It would have never worked out.

'She's right, Ron. You are being a great prat. It's what she wants, and I think that its great that one of our best friends is smart enough to do something like this,' Harry reasoned thoughtfully.

'Harry's right, Ron,' Ginny quipped, not to be left out.

Ron looked positively livid.

'I can't believe you two!' he yelled at Ginny and Harry. 'This is mutiny! You're supposed to hate Snape as much as I do! Is this apprenticeship really more important than our friendship?' he asked all three of them. 'If this is the way you three treat a friend, then I'm out!' he roared, before slamming his way through the portrait.

Hermione made to follow him, but Ginny caught her sleeve and stopped her before she could catch up.

'Bad idea, 'Mione. He'll just get upset and do something stupid. He'll come around by himself one day,' Ginny said, knowing her brother all too well.

'True,' Harry added, just as the Head common room portrait swung open once more to admit the Head Boy, with his blonde hair, sharp features and gunmetal gray eyes.

'Draco!' Ginny exclaimed, rushing into the protective safety of her boyfriend's arms.

'What is it, Gin?' he asked tenderly. Hermione laughed inwardly at the sight. She only ever really saw that loving side of him whenever the bright little redhead was around. 'I just passed Ron outside. He seemed really…oh I don't know - murderous, would you say?' he remarked sarcastically.

'I had to let him go,' Hermione answered coolly.

'Bet he loved that,' the Head Boy replied, setting Ginny back on her feet.

'I can't see him now that I'm an apprentice, can I? Besides, it was never going to work out. There just wasn't anything there,' she retorted defensively.

'Exactly, so call him a prat, let him have his tantrum like he always does, and he'll come around eventually when he's done being a moron,' Draco suggested, earning himself a playful swat over the shoulder from Ginny. 'Owww!'

'That's my brother you're talking about,' Ginny intoned.

Hermione sighed, and slumped into the chair. Harry came up from behind her and smiled reassuringly. 'He'll come around, 'Mione,' he said softly.

'Thanks Harry,' she said, accepting the hug from him.

It was going to be not only a long day, but also a very long year.

--

From his seat in the Headmaster's circular office, Severus could see Hermione shifting about in her chair nervously. In just over two hours, Albus would be announcing her apprenticeship to the rest of the school, and she would be taking her place at the Head table beside him.

It looked to him as though she had already had a tough day, and she hadn't even started teaching classes yet. _She is probably just tired from having to run from her adoring fan club_, Snape thought with a mental snort. And that's when she began to bob her foot up and down.

'Miss Granger, must you insist on doing that?' he asked, irritation evident in his tone.

'Doing what, sir?' she asked innocently.

'That - with your foot; stop it,' he said, immediately pinning her with his most annoyed glare.

She stopped, if only that action, and began drumming her fingers on the armrest of the chair. Her patience wasn't holding up so well, and in truth, neither was his. He groaned and made a sour face. Was it ever going to end? This was all such excruciating torture for him.

And then, Dumbledore finally returned to the office. They both let out a sigh of relief, exhaling the breaths that they hadn't even realized they'd held.

'Your new chambers have been arranged for you, Madame Granger, and have been set to accept the password of your choosing when you first arrive,' he said with a charming smile.

'Where are they located?' she asked with mild curiosity.

'Why, they're in the dungeons, right next to Severus's chambers. You will probably find it much easier to be accessible to Severus that way,' he replied with a twinkle.

Hermione nodded.

'All of your belongings have been moved there already. You will find that the rooms have been fully furnished, and that your book collection has been shelved in your private office, your study, and sitting room. I have also taken the liberty of having the rest of your belongings unpacked for you, and your clothes stored. You will find your new apprentice robes among them,' the Headmaster droned on cheerfully.

_And sickeningly so_, thought Severus, as he watched the old man excite himself into a stupor. Why all of the niceties? He was, after all, just using and manipulating the girl like he did everyone else who showed promise. What need was there to be nice?

'May I go to see my chambers before we have dinner?' she asked softly.

'Severus, would you be so kind?' Albus asked while looking at him with those damned twinkling blue eyes. If they twinkled anymore, he was sure that the Headmaster's head would turn into one of those Muggle disco-ball contraptions.

Severus found that he could only nod, if not because the Headmaster had manipulated him again, then because he just wanted to get away from his twinkling gaze. He stood and began to walk out of the office, assuming Hermione was following him, remembering to curse the Headmaster and his infernal ideas as he walked out.

'Follow me and keep up,' he said curtly, taking long strides and not bothering to slow down for the girl.

Hermione, once more, had been left to practically run after a fast-moving Snape, to keep up with his stride. By the time they reached the portrait of the Gypsy Witch, she was completely out of breath.

'Did you have to walk so fast?' she demanded, feeling positively exhausted. The look he gave her made her feel like cringing, but for her own sake, and to avoid his look of triumph if he knew he had gotten to her, she remained impassive.

'You will have to choose a password,' he said simply.

He watched as her brow furrowed in concentration as she delved into her mind for the right password. He saw the smile that curved her lips, and felt a strange tug around his chest that made him most uncomfortable. He ignored it.

'Belladonna,' she said with an impish grin.

'So be it,' he said, setting her wards and password, trying to fight the sudden urge he had to smile back at her. He managed to keep his mask of neutrality in place.

'Thank you, Professor,' she said before speaking the password and watching the portrait swing forwards. 'I'll see you at dinner.'

He nodded crisply. 'Ensure that you are either early, or at the very least on time. Enter through the staff door henceforth, and you will find your seat at the staff table,' he said quietly, before turning on his heel and striding away purposefully.

Hermione went into her chambers and sighed. She looked around her new, tidy-looking sitting room. It was decorated and furnished with cream and wine colored furniture covers. There was a large, roaring fireplace and bookshelves, as promised, with her own books and some new ones apparently for her apprenticeship. She poked her head through a doorway to find a small kitchen, then passed by a study filled with books and a desk, and also saw a sparkling white bathroom with a comfortably large-looking tub, before she finally reached the bedroom.

The bed had a cream, wine and silver duvet with white, Egyptian cotton bed sheets beneath it. She admired the beautifully carved four-poster, and thought that the white draperies surrounding it looked rather fetching.

She opened her wardrobe, and it was indeed filled with her clothes. She pulled out the black apprentice robes, which had blue and green stripes of fabric shot across the bottom of one of the sleeves, and shrugged out of her school robes, banishing them to the laundry basket in her bathroom.

Laying her new robe on the bed, she also set out a pleated, grey school skirt and white blouse with it, and found a simple black tie to complete the outfit. She wouldn't be wearing her Gryffindor tie any more, she realized.

She went to the bathroom and took a hot shower, and charmed her hair into somewhat of a loose braid, before slipping into her skirt and blouse, doing up the tie, and sliding on a pair of elegant but simple, flat black shoes. She donned the robe and fastened it properly at the front, and once she was completely dressed and ready, there were still ten minutes until she would have to be at dinner. She attempted to read in the sitting room for a while but couldn't concentrate, so she decided to head up early.

She went to the staff door and opened it carefully, looking inside to find that all of the staff had already arrived and were chatting amiably. Well, everyone except for Snape, of course. Minerva smiled and beckoned her inside.

'Sit here, Hermione dear,' she said sweetly, indicating the seat just down from her.

Hermione sat so that there was one seat in between her and McGonagall. And, as if on cue, Snape swept into the hall dramatically with his robes billowing behind him. He sat just as the students began to file in.

Dumbledore stood as soon as everyone was seated and silence fell over the hall. 'Before dinner tonight, there is an announcement I would like to make. I would like for you to welcome, Hermione Granger to our staff as the Potions apprentice. You may refer to her as either Madame Granger or Madame Apprentice,' he said, before seating himself again. 'Tuck in,' he said, and dinner appeared at the tables.

Hermione looked to the Gryffindor table to see Harry and Ginny smiling up at her, and just a little further down the table, Ron scowling childishly. She looked next to her, to find that Snape a look of absolute displeasure on his face as he examined his meal. She knew it had nothing to do with the food, and this made her feel awful.

Somehow, she was going to prove to Snape that she was worthy of being his apprentice.

--

Pain came in many different forms, some dull and throbbing, while others were sharp and stinging. But the pain that Severus felt start in his forearm and travel upwards as he sat at breakfast in the Great Hall the morning after Hermione had been introduced as his apprentice, was a terrible, burning pain.

He clenched his teeth together and hissed under his breath in shock, grabbing his forearm under the table with his right hand.

'Professor?' Hermione asked from next to him.

'Miss Granger, are you prepared to taking my morning classes?' he asked quietly, so that only she could hear him.

She nodded. 'Where are the class plans?' she asked urgently, looking at him with worried eyes.

'They're in my office on the left corner of my desk. Tell Albus that I will return as soon as I am able,' he gasped, getting up from his chair as normally as possible and rushing through the staff door.

He had to practically run to his room, throw on his Death Eater robes, and run for the exit. Damn that evil git and his poor timing to hell! Voldemort would surely know what time breakfast was in the Great Hall. Grabbing his mask as he went, Severus rushed through the dungeon halls to the hidden side door. He thundered through the door and rushed down to the Forbidden Forest, before pulling on his mask, and touching his wand to his dark mark to Apparate.

He threw himself onto his knees before the man -- no -- monster in front of him and bowed down low. 'You summoned me, Master?' he asked reverently.

At this point, he brought up his Occlumency shield and emptied all thoughts from his mind except for the ones that seemed to openly praise the Dark Lord.

'Yes, Luscious brought me some very -- interesting news last night,' Voldemort started with a sick smile.

'My Lord?' Severus asked in mock confusion. He knew exactly what Voldemort was talking about.

'He reported that he had been at Hogwarts yesterday evening, to introduce some of the new Ministry recruits to the castle, and managed to catch the old man's speech just before dinner,' he continued, his voice taking up a hint of annoyance. 'Can you guess what he heard there?'

'Yes, my Lord,' Severus said, bowing and keeping his head down this time.

'And what might that be, Severus?' said the cruel voice softly.

Snape closed his eyes and relaxed his body, preparing to take the '_Crucio_' he would receive as soon as he answered the question. 'He heard Dumbledore announce that I had taken the Mudblood on as my apprentice,' he said in resignation.

'Exactly,' Voldemort hissed, before kicking Severus in the ribs, and after hearing the sharp crack, pointing his wand at him. 'You have a lot of explaining to do, but first… _Crucio!_' he said angrily.

Severus felt excruciating pain shoot through his body like a bullet piercing metal. He felt like screaming, but clenched his jaw and writhed around on the ground instead. This was far worse than the pain he felt when he was Summoned. Anybody else would have died if they had been exposed to this kind of torture.

And then it ended not long after it had begun. He took several deep breaths, which was hard because of his now broken ribs, and forced himself into a kneeling position in front of Voldemort once more.

'Explain your actions, Severus!' he barked.

Snape took a final, deep breath and plunged in headfirst. 'My Lord, I can not justify Dumbledore's reasons for forcing the Mudblood onto me, but I think she may become beneficial to our cause,' he lied spectacularly.

'Go on.'

'She seems to trust me, and with that trust, and her belief that I, her Master and mentor, am always right, I will have her wound around my little finger in no time. She will be useful to extract information from regarding Potter,' he said, spitting out Harry's name in disgust.

Voldemort took a moment to consider this and nodded. 'A good idea, Severus. You shall be rewarded for this, I think,' hissed the snake-like monster. 'Come, there is something else I Summoned you for this morning.'

Snape stood and followed the Dark Lord through some sort of forest to a clearing; where there were already several other Death Eater's waiting. 'It is now time for us to strike the Muggle family just past this clearing,' he addressed them all with a sickening smile. 'Severus shall have the honor of taking the woman of his choosing first.'

Severus felt like gasping but knew that he shouldn't, so contented himself with simply stiffening. He hadn't been commanded to perform a rape in 18 years, and personally, did not want to have to. He followed the group, trailing behind just that little bit, and waited as a rather brash Death Eater blasted the door of the house off its hinges.

He heard a scream from one of the rooms and heard a crash, followed by a thud. Moments later, all of the occupants of the house had been dragged and lined up in front of the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself.

'Take your pick, Severus,' he hissed with glee-filled eyes.

Snape wanted to vomit when he saw the joy that this sport brought to the monster. He felt dirty, and he didn't want to touch any of the women before him. There was a young woman of around twenty and next to her, a woman of his age that he guessed was the mother, and her husband, lying dead on the other side of the room.

He had to make a decision quickly. He chose the younger girl. He might just be able to spare her the pain that the other woman would have to endure being raped by all of the rest of the Death Eaters. 'May I have a private room?' he asked Voldemort, who nodded, and he dragged the girl up the stairs, threw her into a room and locked, warded and silenced the room.

'Girl, I do not have a long time and I can tell that you are afraid, but you have a decision to make,' he said, rounding on the sobbing mess on the floor.

The young woman had curly brown hair and bore a startling resemblance to Hermione, though not quite the same, as she was shorter, and less graceful. She nodded and sniffed, shaking a little.

'I have two choices for you. First, I rape you, and allow you to be raped by at least five other men, who will be foul and brutal with you, and leave you to die here in a pool of your own flesh and blood. Or I can kill you now, painlessly, and make it look like I tortured you and raped you to death,' he said calmly, seeing the tears in her eyes and feeling sympathy for her.

She cried for a little and looked up at him again, and with a soft voice, answered, 'Please, just kill me. I don't want to suffer,' pleadingly.

Severus nodded, and raised his wand. '_Avada Kedavra_' he said quietly, and watched as the life of the girl slipped out of her eyes.

It took him then, five minutes to create a messy, bloody scene. He tore the girls clothes and left shrouds of it laying around the room, all covered in blood. He performed a couple of torture curses on her body, and cut his own arm and covered her with his blood. He performed one last spell to ensure that her maiden-barrier had been broken and her inside torn to shreds.

He left the room after pulling his sleeve over his bleeding arm and went down the stairs to see his "Master". 'It is done. She didn't even survive the torture after I raped the filthy Mudblood,' he spat.

'Good. Now just one last task for you, Severus,' he hissed with a wicked grin.

'Anything, my Lord,' he said with a bow.

'Cast the Dark Mark, and then you may leave. We wouldn't want Dumbledore to become worried as to your whereabouts,' he said coldly.

Severus nodded, feeling sick, dirty and angry at himself because of what he had been forced to do, all for the sake of Albus Dumbledore's cause. He pointed his wand at the sky outside, and muttered '_Morsmorde_' before Apparating away from the scene.

He went into his bathroom and took up his knife once more, letting the cold steel slice through the flesh of his wrist. He would cleanse himself of the dirty feeling.

--

A/N – Okay, well right now I am sure you think that Snape might be a little Emo, and for a while he is in this story, but I can assure you that it does change. Please don't be put off by the events in the beginning.


	3. Part Three

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Three

Murderer… Snape felt like a murderer. He felt like a cold-blooded killer, with no hopes for redemption. He looked at the _Daily Prophet_ and saw the Muggle house that he had been to just the day before, with the Dark Mark hovering above it. Tearing his eyes away from the moving photograph, he made a fruitless attempt to eat his breakfast.

He remembered his conversation with Albus when he had finally returned, sporting a tortured mind, soul, and three broken ribs. He had told the Headmaster everything, letting him see the memory of killing the girl, in a Pensieve

--

'_Severus, you couldn't__do anything more for her. You did the best that you could, considering the circumstances,__'__ Albus said softly._

'_No I didn't, Albus! I should have saved her,__'__ he argued gruffly._

_Albus looked at him with appraising eyes, studying him and finally realizing why Severus had been taking this so badly. __'__It wasn__'__t her, Severus. She was safe, and by killing that girl, you saved her life. She would have suffered otherwise. You gave her a painless option,__'__ he said quietly._

'_What are you talking about, old man,__'__ he snapped defensively. __'__I wasn__'__t thinking about anything or anyone when I killed the girl. She was just too young to die.__'_

_Albus nodded, but ignored his defense. He knew that Severus was worried, and it was not about his own hide. He was worried about a certain other brilliant mind that was currently teaching a sixth year mixed Gryffindor and Slytherin class below. __'__Severus, I know you, and I won__'__t mention it again after this, but rest assured that she could not be safer anywhere else. Besides, with you as her protector, she will never come to any harm.__'_

_Snape snorted. __'__Albus, she is in far more danger with me around,__'__ he said with a derisive air. __'__And do not even try to suggest that I care for her. I care for her no more than anyone else in this godforsaken castle.__'_

_Albus chuckled. __'__Just don__'__t get all dejected because of this incident. It could have gone far worse,__'__ the Headmaster said reassuringly._

_Severus simply nodded and left the round office quietly._

--

Could have gone worse his arse. An innocent girl was dead, and he had killed her. How the hell was he supposed to feel; happy because he put her out of her misery? How could any sane person be pleased with himself for taking another human life? She couldn't have been more than twenty years old.

And what made the whole thing worse, was that Dumbledore thought it was just lovely that he escaped barely harmed after murdering an entire Muggle family. Was he bloody insane?

Giving up on trying eating anything, Severus instead picked up his _Prophet_ and left the Great Hall.

Hermione watched as Snape left the hall silently, without dramatically thundering through the door or whipping around his robes. Instead, his had simply rigidly opened it, and left without a word. He had been extremely quiet since his return from the Dark Lord's Summons the afternoon before, and it was beginning to worry her. It was as if he had become depressed somewhere in between breakfast and lunch.

She knew that there was probably more to it than just showing up somewhere and becoming a dark, brooding mess, but he didn't say anything to her. He wouldn't even look at her in the eye, or at all for that matter.

She sighed and finished off her breakfast quickly, and left the Great Hall so that she could finish her last minute preparation for her class of seventh years first up. She had decided with Snape the night before that she would be teaching the seventh, fourth and second year students, while he took care of the other classes.

She walked into the dungeon classroom and waved her hand over the blackboard and the instructions appeared. She also set up her demo cauldron at the front desk, and began to prepare the base for the potion she was going to make. After it had simmered for a good ten minutes, she added the rest of the ingredients and left it to simmer on the lowest heat once more.

'I take it you are ready to begin teaching today?' asked a cold voice from the door.

Hermione spun around and looked at Snape, who once more, had averted his eyes so that he didn't have to see her properly. 'Yes, will you be sitting in on this lesson?' she asked with a small hopeful smile. This might be her chance to prove herself to him.

'Perhaps,' he answered, before turning and walking away.

Hermione exhaled the breath she had taken and looked sadly after him. He seemed so, empty and lost. Like the old snarky Professor had deserted him, and had turned him into a shell, dirty and broken. Empty. And there was no pleasant, happy person filling that space either. There was nothing.

She went to the desk and flipped through her notes, until ten minutes later, when her class finally arrived. She called them in, and stood by her cauldron as they took their seats. She saw Harry and Draco sit with each other and spared them a quick smile, and then saw Ron at the back of the classroom, on the opposite side from Harry, scowling.

She sighed sadly. She hadn't meant for any of their friendships to be ruined by this apprenticeship, but it was Ron's own fault for his attitude.

'Today, you may start you will be making a very complex potion, and you will have to be careful. Please come to the front of the classroom and we shall begin,' she said as nicely as she could.

She saw Snape enter the classroom and take a seat at the back, and felt suddenly self-conscious. The class, however, had surrounded her now, and was peering into her cauldron.

'Can anybody tell me what this potion is? As soon as somebody gives me the answer, you may all go and start to make the exact same potion yourself,' she asked quietly.

Neville's hand, to her surprise, shot up into the air. 'Madame Apprentice, I think that is the Muscle Relaxant Potion,' he said unsurely.

'That is correct, Mr. Longbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor,' she said, smiling at him encouragingly. 'Now that you all know what it is, go search it up in your text books and make it. I want a sample from each pair by the end of the lesson,' she said seriously. 'Mr. Longbottom, you can pair up with Mr. Weasley for this lesson.'

Snape nearly fell out of his chair when she said that. Was she trying to kill Weasley? Maybe she was? He didn't know, and he was going to assume that she was having a disagreement with this particular Weasley, but it didn't bother him if she was.

He watched as she skillfully took charge of the class, and encouraged Longbottom, instead of yelling at him. This resulted is absolutely no explosions, and a sample of the potion from everyone by the end of the lesson. He was amazed at how fast she had taken to teaching. In a few days, he would have to introduce her to his private work, and be forced to hear out her ideas.

'Professor?' said a small, feminine voice near him.

Snape looked up and saw that the classroom was empty. Hermione was on the other side of the room, with an armful of papers.

'Yes, Miss Granger?' he answered reluctantly.

'Could you please help me?' she asked, giving him a pleading look.

And then he saw it all in his mind, the young Muggle girl on the ground, crying, begging him to kill her, a green flash of light, blood, a dead, cold set of brown eyes looking up at him lifelessly.

'No!' he cried, closing his eyes, and trying to get it out of his mind.

The images wouldn't go away, and he looked up at Hermione who was looking at him scared. He rushed out of the room and towards his chambers, and upon reaching them, went to the bathroom and threw himself to the cupboards, searching for the blade as the images of the morning before kept flashing through his mind.

He found the knife and drew it along the flesh of his wrists, up his arms, his chest, until he couldn't feel the pain, or see the images any more. He felt numb, and cold, and before he knew it, he was leaning over the toilet bowl, retching what he had most recently eaten into it.

It had never been like this for him before.

--

Sometimes, having a long term memory served as a burden and a pain, as opposed to being a memory bank for those memories that are cherished and wanted. Severus didn't have any of those frivolous and happy memories. All he had was a shady upbringing in a wealthy family, a few terrible pranks played on him at Hogwarts as a student, the unwilling activities performed while he was a loyal Death Eater, the life of a spy, and now, the murder of an innocent girl.

She had still been pure when he had killed her. She had been untouched, untainted, pure and whole flesh that had been corrupted by one well-aimed curse. He was surprised to know that there was even a youth living on the planet that had not succumbed to the lure of the flesh.

But he had witnessed that miracle, and had destroyed it, all in one morning. Severus looked down at his torn flesh. He really did need to find a better outlet than the cutting, but he honestly couldn't help it. He hated wallowing in self-pity, but it seemed to be an activity that he had been engaging in quite frequently of late.

He could see nearly all of the ugly pink scars that he had left, not completely healed, as a reminder of what he had done. He would most likely have at least ten scars for each life he had taken.

Severus couldn't take it any more. He needed to get out of the castle for a while. Being in his room was beginning to send him stir crazy, and it had only been a month since the beginning of term. He felt pathetic. If it hadn't been for that blasted child, he would be the same sadistic bastard that usually resided in his body. Where had that bloody lunatic fled to?

He walked out of his bathroom and grabbed his wand, healing the wounds so that the marks would still remain there. He would need to take a Blood Replenishing Potion before he left. He always lost so much blood when he did it. He drank one down quickly and rolled his white shirt-sleeves to his elbows, and unbuttoned the shirt around his neck. He needed to breathe.

Not really caring if anybody saw him, but doubting that anyone would, Severus left through the side door, and walked towards the Forbidden Forest to a spot at the side of the lake that he often sat at to think. He didn't really care that the edges of his sleeves were spattered with his own blood. Who was going to see it anyway?

Even Albus didn't know of his cutting problem, and he wasn't about to tell the meddlesome old geezer. He approached his peaceful escape, before he heard a muffled sob, followed by a painful groan. There was somebody there. He looked around the tree, to find Hermione Granger, sitting there, arms wrapped around her knees, with tears streaming down her face.

He looked at her with a pained expression. He did not like the girl, no. But he did feel a strange sympathy towards her that was most uncharacteristic of him. Professor Snape could not just _feel_ towards any person. But maybe Severus could, just this once.

He stepped from behind the tree and sat down abruptly next to the emotional 19-year-old. She looked at him in mild surprise, the tears still spilling forth from her eyes. She just gaped at him for a moment, taking in his profile roughly.

'Professor… I am sorry, I know I shouldn't be out here, but I – 'she stammered helplessly.

'You're not a student any more. You may do what you wish during your free time,' he said bluntly, not bothering to put on the sympathetic act quite yet.

Hermione didn't say anything to him after that. Not because she didn't want to, but simply because she could not find the right words to say. It was then, during her silent scrutiny of him, that she realized that he was not wearing his black frock-coat, or his cumbersome black teaching robes, or any of the other layers between the atmosphere and his skin apart from white shirtsleeves.

She saw the top couple of buttons were undone, and the sleeves had been rolled to his elbows. So this was how Snape dressed on weekends, when nobody else could see him. She had often wondered if he was always so strict with his wardrobe.

And that was when she spotted it. His skin was like alabaster, on what she assumed was most areas of his body, bar one, and it was in plain view to her then. The numerous pink and red scars, which looked to have been fairly deep cuts, marred his wrists and arms. There were honestly too may to count.

'Professor, I - - what happened?' she asked, sniffing, but having a pretty good idea that it was not just an accident.

'Are you alright, Miss Granger?' he asked, ignoring her question.

'Yes, I'm fine. Just some friend troubles really. I was just being silly over some trivial and pointless matters,' she replied, waving it of and drying her face. 'What happened to your arms, Professor?'

'Have you ever wondered why it is that I wear so many layers of clothing, Miss Granger?' he asked conversationally, his voice suddenly picking up in tone.

Hermione looked at him feeling thoroughly confused. He truly was just a shell of the man who had once been demanding and harsh, but in the best sense of the words.

'Not really,' she lied. 'But I will listen to you if you tell me why.'

'I have many scars on my person that are not very nice to look upon. I am not a self-conscious fool, but I like my privacy. And scars are some of the things that I would prefer remained private in my life,' he drawled with a hint of his old self. 'Do you understand that?'

She nodded mutely, afraid to speak, and drive the man away. She didn't want him to leave. Not when he was like this.

He turned to face her, and stretched his long legs out in front of him. Bringing an arm forwards, he thrust it towards her and allowed her to examine the angry red and pink marks, some were puckered from the deepness of the wound that he had inflicted upon himself.

'You are an emotional one, Miss Granger, and I am going to make the assumption that whenever you are frustrated with a situation, you cry about it,' he stated bluntly. 'Am I correct?'

'How did you know that?'

'Nobody has ever seen my arms or any of my other scars before,' he commented dryly. 'You are the first, and the last. I would prefer if you did not speak of it to anyone. I trust you to keep this clandestine.'

'Of course,' she hurried to assure him.

'I know that you cry when you are frustrated or upset, because I am the same. Except, when I feel that way, I do not cry,' he answered to her earlier question.

Hermione gazed up at him expectantly. 'What do you do?' she asked softly, letting her fingertips trace the scars on one of his arms in wonder.

He extended both arms out to her, and opened his hands, palms up. He was exposed to her, completely and totally. 'I do this,' he answered simply.

She gazed at his arms and saw all of his sorrow and sadness. She swore that she could almost see his drunken father slap his across the face, or beat him senseless. She could see the beatings his mother endured. She could feel the anger at having to kill, and taste the blood.

The hot tears began to sting the corner of her eyes again as she felt a fresh wave of emotion wash over her. Except this time, it was not for herself, or for Ron, or for any of her ruined relationships. It was for the man sitting in front of her, totally exposed, and baring his soul. It was for the courageous man who fought the war and spied for the light. It was for the hurting man, and the empathy she felt in her heart for his pain.

She sighed, and shifted, moving forwards to encompass Severus Snape in a tight embrace, for her gratification as much as his. She needed the contact, and she had a feeling he needed it too. To make up for all of the times he had not been touched with a tender hand.

And they both simply sat there, not friends, and not really liking each other, but needing to comfort each other in a way that had no words. They simply held each other, and drank comfort and much needed sympathy.

Severus had honestly never felt this cared for in his entire existence.

--

Hermione Granger was a problem. The problem with her was that Severus just didn't know what to think about her any more. She had gone from being a self-important little girl, who lived to boss people around and be the teachers pet in her first year. And in her second year, she had been a troublesome, sneaky thief, whom he never caught because he didn't have any evidence against her, before she became Petrified of course.

In her third year, she had been the annoyingly ambitious girl, with the Time-Turner permanently attached to her hand. That year had proved to be one of his more physically painful experiences with students. He had been blasted with the same hex from Hermione, Potter and Weasley, and thrown against a wall, unconscious.

When her fourth year came around, she had become a little nicer to look upon. Not the average, typical kind of beauty that once could see just anywhere, but the elegant, inner kind. That was, until he had upset her with his remark about her over-sized teeth being "no different" and she had become a banshee again. And again in her fifth year, she had been an annoying little chit, especially when forming the DA with Potter, and causing general mayhem around the castle.

The year before, in her sixth year, she had been the regular little know-it-all that had constantly peppered him with bothersome questions. And now this year, right now, he didn't know what he thought. He didn't really like her.

Maybe he respected her just that little bit more, because of the way she handled herself as a teacher and apprentice, not even going easy on her friends. He admired her ability to separate personal life from work the way that he did. She had also insisted and made him promise to her that he would go to her if he ever got the urge to cut himself again, and they would talk.

He had made the promise, but he had no idea how to go about keeping that promise. He seldom made promises, and was unpracticed at keeping them. Although, he had been more himself since holding her almost one month before.

He could hardly believe that it had been an entire month since he had found her crying beneath his cover of trees by the lake. It had always been his sanctuary, but now it was their shared one.

'Professor Snape, are you here?' called a sweet, feminine voice from just beyond his office door.

Speak of the devil herself. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, while deciding whether he would answer or not. Maybe it would be worth it?

'Yes Miss Granger, come in,' he answered with impatience.

Hermione poked her head through the opening at his door and slipped into the room, pulling the door firmly shut behind her, and dropping a pile of papers onto his desk. She smiled at him, and sat in the chair opposite him.

Unlike Severus, who had been enduring an internal war over his feelings for her, and the current identity crisis, Hermione was aware of who she was, and knew exactly how she felt about her former Potions professor, and current master. She had hated him, disliked him, become irritated and annoyed with him, grudgingly respected him, respected and defended him, considered him a friend of sorts, and now - - well she liked him more than was appropriate for an apprentice to like her master.

'Afternoon, Professor,' she said cheerfully.

He merely nodded in acknowledgement, and looked at her with indifferent eyes. 'Is there something you wanted to discuss?' he asked curtly.

'Well, actually, there are many things that I have been dying to ask you, but I'm afraid that you'll bite my head off if I actually get around to it,' she answered with a sheepish grin.

He pinned her with the most Snape-like glare she had seen in a long time. She was almost tempted to walk over to him and kiss the scowl off his face, but resisted for the sake of her better judgment. Actually, that was the most normal thing she had seen him do in a long time, and even she was hesitant to remove the signs of his improvement.

'Halloween is in two days,' Hermione commented off-handedly, trying to steer the conversation to something slightly more pleasant.

'Mmmhmm,' Snape mumbled in response, turning his attention to a stack of essays on the corner of his desk. They had to be marked some time, what better time?

'Will you be at Hogwarts for the ball?' she asked conversationally.

He nodded. 'Unfortunately, Albus asked me to be there as a chaperone. He'll do anything to get me to attend such frivolities,' he said with a heavy sigh.

Hermione laughed a little, which earned her a curious look from Severus. The girl was up to something, and he could sense it. He might be suffering, what she liked to call an identity crisis, but he was not that far gone that he couldn't sense subterfuge.

'Okay,' Hermione replied, nodding.

'Miss Granger, is there something that you want? Because I am beginning to think that you may have had ulterior motives to come and coax something out of me,' he asked in exasperation.

Merlin! The girl could be positively irritating. She was running circles and skirting the subject. Just like a doddering old geezer he knew.

Hermione smiled. 'Well, actually, Professor. I was wondering if you would be so kind as to be my escort to the ball. Its masquerade this year, you know?' she asked with all of her Gryffindor boldness before it ski[delete one 'l']lfully eluded her.

Snape felt his heart throb its way up his throat and make him feel extremely uncomfortable. He swallowed hard, and looked at Hermione with confusion.

'Did I hear incorrectly, or did you just ask me to attend the ball with you?' he asked, completely dumbfounded. How did the girl always manage to render him so incapable of coherent speech?

'I did exactly that, Professor. And I will be requiring an answer to that,' she added thoughtfully.

Snape gave her a wary look and tried to focus back on marking the essays. He had never been confronted like this by a person in his entire life. 'What exactly would the terms of this escort be?' he asked, not bothering to look at her.

'It's not a date, Professor. It is simply a professor escorting his apprentice to a Halloween ball as a friend and colleague,' she said in confirmation.

'Alright,' Snape answered in resignation, although it sounded a lot like a date to him. What on earth was the girl up to?

'Great! Now we just have to discuss our costumes, because it would look a bit daft if I showed up wearing red on the arm of a man clad in green. We'd look like a Christmas decoration,' she said quickly.

'I only wear black,' he said quietly.

'I've noticed that. Perhaps you could try a different color, just for the night?' she asked in a voice that pouted in itself.

'Or, perhaps, Miss Granger, you will oblige to wear black for me this night, and I may feel obliged to return the favor and wear a different color some other occasion?' he replied back seriously.

Hermione shrugged a little and smiled. 'I think that could be arranged, but only if you let me get your mask for you,' she bargained tactfully.

Severus could see that he was never going to be the winner of this particular argument, and submitted. At least he would be wearing black. He really didn't fancy many other colors, and they only ranged from near-black greens, dark grays, and navy blue. All of the colors were fairly straight forward and simple.

Just how he liked it.

Hermione stood up from her chair and collected the papers she had brought with her from her desk and went to the door, only to turn back at the last moment and smile. 'Thank you for your time, Professor,' she said brightly.

As soon as she had left the office it went eerie and cold, as if Hermione had just taken the warmth with her. Severus sighed and rested his face in his hands. He was going to have to find a good suit before Friday then.

By then, he might be ready to accept the fact that he was indeed, going to the Halloween Ball with Hermione.

--

A/N - Yes, Snape is still going to be a little Emo for a while longer. The root of his depression is from all of the guilt he feels over murdering innocent people.


	4. Part Four

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Four

Halloween certainly knew how to creep up rather quickly, and no sooner than Hermione Granger had asked Severus to the ball with her, the event itself was right on his heels. He looked into the mirror and sighed in resignation. He was bare from the hips up, with only his formal black slacks and new, polished, black shoes on. He could see the raw scars from his dreadful emotional habit, but was rather pleased that he had not had the urge to cut himself since that night near the Forbidden Forest.

He pulled on a black, silk shirt, and buttoned it with practiced ease, securing the cuffs, and neatly tucking it into his trousers that were resting on his jutting hipbones. He pulled on his silky, black waistcoat, that had a shimmering, silver design of serpents imprinted into it faintly, and buttoned it too, before tucking the black, starched front piece in and securing his necktie.

He pulled on the formal outer robe, and straightened out. He looked passable at best, and the robe was most likely the only nice-looking thing about him. Muttering to himself, he secured his ridiculous ebony hair with a silk tie at the nape of his neck.

That was going to have to do it.

If Hermione was looking for a knight in shining armor, then she was sure to be sorely disappointed. Shaking his head, he left his chamber in the familiar sweeping motion that he had not used in a month. It felt odd trying to act like nothing had happened, yet so natural to act like a self-important bastard.

He walked with long strides to Hermione's chambers and found that the portrait had been left un-warded, smirking at her innocent faith in him and anyone else who should happen to pass and notice the lack of wards. He muttered her password, and the portrait swung forth immediately to admit him into her immaculate sitting room.

'I'll be with you in one moment, Professor,' she said hurriedly, poking her head out from a door to his left and smiling at him before retreating back into the room.

He walked over to the wall lined with bookshelves, and only then noticed just how large a collection she had, not to mention the wall covered with nooks in her office, and the possibility of more in her private study. She was well on her way to having as many as he did.

Of course, that might take her hundreds of years to achieve, as he had a Manor House just outside of Scotland that had a huge library, as well as his generous collection in his chambers and workspace. He chose to peruse her books as he waited, and was impressed with her taste in both Muggle and magical literature. Some Muggle fictions included _Jane Austen's Complete Works_, with books like _Pride & the Prejudice_, and another, _Sense & Sensibility_. He also found titles such as _Moste Pontente Potions_ and _Potente Vivere_, a book dedicated to Potions that enhanced life and exploited death. He continued to look through the books, until he heard a soft voice clear her throat.

He spun around and almost gasped at what he saw. Hermione was dressed in the most delightful two-piece robe set. It had a high collar on the outer black robe, and was edged with silver thread that was woven in intricate patterns along it, with the same edging along the elbow length sleeves. The inner dress was made of the same delightful sheer silk, except it was in slippery silver, and fell to the floor, where the outer robe only went two inches higher than it.

She had her hair swept up in a breathtaking twist, with tendrils of her brown curls tumbling down her neck and framing her face. Her eyes positively twinkled at him. She had not been dressed like that when he had first arrived.

'Professor, you're staring at me,' she said shyly, blushing all the way down her neck, and flushing at the exposed tops of her perfectly rounded breasts. Severus definitely felt a stirring in his loins when she flushed like that.

He pulled himself out of his trance and went up to her, taking her hand and pressing a formal kiss to her knuckles. '_I do not like her. I do not like her. I do not like her…_' seemed to be the only thing that Severus could think.

'You look nice,' he said stiffly. It took a lot for him to give any person a compliment, which meant that it should mean more than if any other person had said it.

And the funny thing was -- it actually did. Hermione found it hard to breathe when she had first seen him in her chambers. He wasn't conventionally handsome, but to her, he looked dignified and mature. Not like all of the silly little boys she was used to seeing on a daily basis. To her, he was attractive, and with his trim, tall figure in those robes, she would do anything to be able to rip them off him.

'Shall we go then?' she asked a little breathlessly. She hoped he wouldn't notice that he had put her in a state of high arousal to say the very least.

'Let's,' he said simply, holding an arm out for her to tuck her hand into the crook of his elbow, and started towards the exit.

They emerged into the cool of the dungeon hall, and Hermione stopped him. She handed him a silver half-mask, which was guaranteed to cover his entire forehead, cheeks and nose perfectly. She had charmed it so that it would fit the exact proportions of his features. He slipped it on wordlessly, and waited for her to put hers on. It was similar, and also fit the proportions of her face, and was in the same silver. It was odd how they had both chosen their own wardrobe, and had ended up choosing a costume that complimented the other perfectly.

When she had fastened it in place, and fastened the two buttons at the front of her dress robes, they emerged from the dungeons arm in arm. They walked into the Great Hall together, only to find that it had already filled with the many students, all wearing masks as tradition dictated. At midnight the removal would commence.

Snape was quite the gentleman the entire night, being extremely chivalrous, and making sure that she was comfortable. He collected her drinks for her, pulled out her chair for her, danced wonderfully with her. But the only downside to this gentlemanly Snape, was that he hardly spoke more than two words all night.

Hermione decided, as they danced, she would have to say something to him to break the building tension.

'It has been quite a lovely evening, don't you agree?' she asked conversationally.

'Indeed,' he replied stiffly, whirling her around, before pulling her back flush against him as they waltzed, dipped and twirled around the dance floor.

'Aren't you supposed to be doing some sort of chaperoning duty?' she asked, wondering whether or not he had forgotten. His thinning lips told her that he had not forgotten, and that her reminder was unwanted.

'Yes,' he replied tersely.

'May I come with you when you do?' she asked softly.

'Yes,' he answered, but this time with more shock than anything else.

The dance ended, and he led them off the dance floor, and out the nearest doors so that they could stroll amongst the gardens, and ensure that no students were performing inappropriate acts outside. They stopped by a series of tall rose bushes, and Snape muttered a charm and waved his hand across, exposing the snogging couple behind them.

'Miss Greengrass, Mr. Zabini. Pray tell why it is that you are out in the cold, while everybody else is enjoying the festivities?' he asked in a very Slytherin manner.

Hermione would have laughed at their situation any other day, but was more acutely aware of what Snape had just done to them. He had been sneaky, cold, and asked questions to force them into answering them honestly. They didn't have an answer for him this time.

'Twenty points from Slytherin and the same for Ravenclaw, Miss Greengrass,' he said shortly, pointing a long finger in the general direction of the castle.

Hermione smiled at this very Snape-like action. They finished his rounds, and danced a couple more dances before Hermione yawned softly. He looked down, and saw that she was beginning to get sleepy, and led her off the dance floor. Once they were out of the Great Hall, he picked her up and carried her back to the portrait, and deposited her on her bed, once the blasted thing had admitted him.

Sweet Nimue, portraits could be ruddy annoying. He left Hermione's room, trying to ignore the fact that she was on his mind, when the pain shot through his arm, burning in that most familiar way.

The Dark Lord certainly knew how to pick the times to further his plans.

--

The air was stale and sickly in the swamp. It tasted of death and the ugly fate that awaited them as they crouched in waiting. Severus was crouched especially low in his half-kneeling, half-bow position that was required of him while in the presence of the Dark Lord. He had more recently found himself sitting closest to Voldemort, at his right hand, while Lucius kneeled at his right.

They were waiting for the traitor to be led to the centre to lie before the Dark Lord and beg for forgiveness, before it would be denied, and he would be tortured and killed. It had happened more times than he could count, as Voldemort's follower's faith in him had begun to crumble of late.

What had started out as an almost pleasant Halloween had soon become the bane of his very existence; second only to his pesky apprentice? Perhaps, but she wasn't a threat to him as she slumbered peacefully in her dungeon chambers.

'Ah, finally, the guest of honor has arrived,' Voldemort drawled, ending with a hiss.

Severus looked up just enough to catch sight of the victim for that night. It was Percy Weasley. When had that freckled pain-in-the-arse become a Death Eater? He supposed that it was hard to recognize anyone with the masks on, but he never figured that the third Weasley boy had a dark side.

'Percy Ignatius Weasley, you are hereby sentenced to torture and death for your betrayal of our Lord, and your deceit,' Lucius Malfoy said deadpan.

Voldemort gave a sharp nod and waved for Severus to move forward. 'Severus, would you do the honors this evening?' he asked, as more of an order.

Severus had no choice but to stand. His feet propelled him up, and he grasped the handle of his wand more firmly, snapping it in the direction of the young Weasley. He was about to cast the only hex that came to mind, when he was stopped by an angry, high-pitched voice that sounded out around the dense air of the swamp even.

'_Crucio!'_ screamed Bellatrix Lestrange angrily.

Severus fell to the ground in angry, writhing pain. Although it was not as intense as the Dark Lord's, it still made him twitch. He heard, through the blood pounding in his ears, the woman begin her ranting screech.

'You, Severus Snape, are the most undeserving, pathetic, snivelling coward I have ever known. How dare you presume that you can claim my position at the foot of our Lord! How dare you!' she screamed, having a miniature tantrum.

'Enough, Bella,' Voldemort cried out furiously. 'I gave the position to Severus freely. He is faithful, and has proven to be far greater use to me than you ever will!'

'_Cruciata_,' Bella said reluctantly, dropping to her knees on the ground, as Severus staggered into a standing position once more.

He brushed off the dust on his robes and stood to full height, still shaking and tensed-up a little, but glaring at Bella all the same. If looks could kill, she would have been six-foot under. 'You question our Lord's decisions, Bella. I thought you knew better than that,' Snape drawled smugly.

'Severus, she is yours to deal with as you please, once you have removed the traitor, but for Merlin's sake, kill the Weasley,' Lucius whined impatiently.

Severus nodded and turned back to the traitor. He hated the Weasleys and the task should have been easy for him. But as he looked at this Weasley, he thought of Ron Weasley, and remembered Hermione. She loved the Weasleys so dearly, like family, and was accepted into their home, because she didn't have one of her own any more. Bellatrix Lestrange was to blame for that.

He raised his wand, however, reluctantly, and sighed inwardly. _'Goodbye__,__ Weasley,'_ was his last, fleeting thought, before he did the unthinkable. '_Avada Kedavra!'_ he said cried, feeling hatred boil at what he was being made to do.

The red-head dropped lifelessly to the ground. He was loathing seeing the empty, green eyes staring back up at him with an unfocussed glaze about them. He felt ill, like he had committed yet another terrible wrong.

'Well done, Severus,' his master said cruelly. 'Now, don't you want to punish Bella?'

Snape shook his head. 'With your permission, Master, I will return to Hogwarts and take a muscle relaxant. Her weak _Crucio_ has left my nerves on edge,' he drawled.

'Of course, go now my faithful servant. Heal yourself, and I will ensure that Bella is punished for her brash actions towards you,' Voldemort said, with more than a little delight in his red eyes.

Severus Apparated away as soon as he could, and appeared at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, feeling his muscles convulse a little from the after-effects of the curse. Bellatrix was not nearly as powerful as the Dark Lord, but it was strong enough to make his muscles ache as if he had been for a long run. He pulled the mask off and headed towards the castle in a moderate amount of discomfort.

He reached the door, that was flung open the moment he reached out for the handle, and he was pulled through forcefully by a frantic-looking Hermione. 'What are you doing, girl?' he hissed.

'What the bloody hell does it look like?' she demanded back angrily, forcing a vial into his hands just as a fresh wave of tremors hit.

He dropped the vial and she waved a hand to stop it from falling, and summoned it back to her hand by crooking a finger. She took off the stopper and used one hand on his chest to steady him, and pressed the vial to his lips with the other. He drank it only to get away from her sooner, but she didn't relent.

'Where the hell have you been? I've been worried sick!' she asked.

'Do not assume that you can speak to me that way, Miss Granger!' he spat. 'You'll do well to remember just who the master is here!'

'I am not your slave that you can just order around, Snape! I am a human being too, not some ruddy house-elf. Treat me like one,' she said in a low voice, gritting her teeth so to not lose control.

Snape stood there stunned. She had never, in her entire time at Hogwarts, ever called him anything but sir or Professor Snape. The shakes had gone, and he could see the anger in her eyes, as well as the angry flush of her cheeks. He had really gone too far this time. He had not meant to drive away her respect for him.

'My apologies,' he said, dropping the Death Eater mask.

Hermione gasped for the first time as she saw the mask fall to the ground. She knew he had gone there. She knew, from the moment she saw the castles side door left open,, that he had been made to rush off in a hurry.

'What happened this time?' she asked. Last time it had been a Muggle family. There was no way that a Death Eater meeting had gone by without something dreadful happening.

Severus bowed his head and shook it. He couldn't tell her. She would know in the morning when the post arrived anyway. He looked up and saw the fear in her eyes. Why was she always so concerned for him? For everyone else? He pushed his body off the wall and wrapped his arms around her. He needed the comfort this time, more than ever. She simply accepted it, knowing that if she wasn't there, he would be somewhere in his chambers, slowly killing himself in a pool of blood.

He heaved an awful sigh and pulled her as tight as his thick, cumbersome dress robes would allow. Somehow, this contact, this brief intimacy in the parallel space they were in, was the thing he needed the most and lived for. She reached her hands up to the clasp on his Death Eater cloak and released it, letting the robe slip to the floor in an inky pool, and pulled him closer.

'I'm sorry, Miss Granger,' he said quietly, holding her as if she would slip away at any moment.

Hermione pressed fingers to his lips and shushed him. 'Please, don't. You need this, and I do too. Don't apologize for anything,' she soothed softly.

'Miss Granger…'

'Surely you can call me Hermione after this, at least,' she interrupted, letting her hand stroke up the front of his silk waistcoat, feeling the smooth texture.

'Hermione, thank you,' he said quietly.

Hermione could tell by that point, that Snape was getting extremely fatigued and had no idea what he was doing. She released him and led him in the direction of his chambers, made him say the password, and laid him to rest on his bed. After making him drink a Dreamless Sleep Potion, she left without another word.

Her sleep was tormented after that…

--

The note that had been pinned to the notice board just outside of the Great Hall had come as a relief to many of the staff and students alike. Hermione had been relieved by the note the day it had been posted, but five days after, she felt slightly less pleased by it.

_Christmas Break_

_All students planning on leaving Hogwarts will have until the _

_20__th__ of December to make the arrangements. _

_The Hogwarts Express will be leaving from the Hogsmeade Station_

_At exactly 6:00 pm on the 19__th__ of December._

_All students are wished a very Happy Christmas!_

As Hermione read the note again, she sighed. It had only been three days since she had walked Harry, Ginny and Draco to Hogsmeade and waved them goodbye. Harry and Ginny were going to spend Christmas at the Burrow with the Weasleys, while Draco headed to spend a week with his mother, and then a week at the Burrow under the guise that he would be going to spend the second week at Hogwarts.

She looked at the globes and the jewels sparkling in the house points counting vases, and sighed. The date that read above it came as a depressing reality to her. _23__rd__ of December_... She shook her head. Maybe some time in the library would help to clear her head. She walked in that direction, and just as she reached out to open the door, she felt a hand on her other elbow.

She snapped around defensively, clutching her wand tightly within her robes. It was just Snape. 'Can I help you, Professor?' she asked coolly.

'Yes, I was wondering if you had anything you needed to do in London before we go to Yorkshire,' he asked back just as stiffly.

'Yorkshire?' she asked, cocking her head to the side in a questioning way.

'That is where I live. We will be spending the remainder of the holiday there where I might pursue my Potions research more freely. So I suggest you pack. We'll be stopping in Diagon Alley shortly on the way,' he noted off quickly.

Hermione bristled slightly under his irritated look, and sighed. 'I'll go pack then, shall I?' she asked as more of a statement, turning to walk back in the direction of the dungeons. 'How long do I have?'

'I have made arrangements and packed. You have as long as you need,' he replied absently.

Hermione nodded, fled to her chambers and began to scrabble around, throwing books into her bag, and neatly tucking as many decent-looking robes as she could into the bag, included some reasonable Muggle clothes. Once she deemed herself ready enough for the trip, she strolled out of the dungeons, and found herself in the Entrance Hall within twenty minutes.

'Are you ready to leave now?' Snape whispered silkily beside her ear, his warm breath washing over her neck, causing her flesh to prickle.

'Yes,' she breathed, trying not to sound aroused.

'Excellent, shall we leave then?' he asked smoothly, letting his hand rest on the small of her back, and nudging her towards the great oak doors.

Hermione nodded, and tapped her bag with her wand, instantly transforming it into a shoulder bag that she could carry. She slung it over her shoulder and walked towards the door, making sure that she kept up with Snape. Surprisingly, he walked next to her in silence at a pace that was most leisurely for him.

Hermione watched his graceful movements as he walked with long, deft strides, making walking an art of its own. She knew that she had been mad at this man for many things in his past and in the present. But all of those things were forgotten to her, at least for Christmas. There was no use in being mad during the holidays. But she had to ask the question…

'Professor, what happened at the last Death Eater meeting,' she asked quietly, barely above a hiss.

Severus was instantly taken-aback by her question. To his surprise, relief and disgust, Percy Weasley's death had not been on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_. He had found out mere hours after, that his body had been disposed of carefully, and the Dark Mark had not been cast. He looked at Hermione. Percy had long been distant from his family, which was why nobody had noticed his disappearance. Molly and Arthur had no idea, nor his siblings or Harry-bloody-Potter. Neither did Hermione…

'I cannot tell you, Miss Granger,' he said solemnly.

Hermione prickled immediately. 'Don't give me that routine, Professor. You know perfectly well that I know something dreadful happened. Somebody died, didn't they?' she demanded hotly.

'Yes.'

'Tell me who,' she said curtly.

'You will be disappointed. He was another Death Eater. A traitor who was discovered trying to flee the country,' Severus replied evenly, his voice betraying nothing.

'I want to know,' she said calmly. 'Please.'

Severus cleared his throat uncomfortably. 'Percy Weasley.'

Hermione stopped dead in her tracks, and looked up into Snape's mercilessly obsidian eyes. He looked as impassive as ever, voice level, posture stiff. But his eyes were speaking volumes. It was filled with remorse, disgust, hate, fury, and sorrow. She stepped forwards and reached her hand up to his face, cupping his jaw in it and bringing the other to rest on his chest. His body stiffened instantly, but after a long moment, relaxed a little beneath her trembling hands.

'You had to do it, didn't you?' she asked, knowing what the answer was already.

Severus lifted his left hand and rested it over the hand on his chest, and let his right hand cover her hand on is face. He drew them away from him, into his hands, and held them firmly as he kneeled on the ground before her, unguarded, yet unsure.

'Forgive me,' he pleaded, as he grasped her hands and looked up into her shining eyes.

'Of course,' she whispered, tugging at his hands to get him to stand. 'Let's leave here now, though.'

He towered before her once more, still holding her small hands in his large hands and nodded slowly. He released her hands, and moved a reasonable distance away before gesturing for them to continue. Hermione walked beside him the whole time, not speaking, but letting his presence and sincere remorse comfort her.

They soon reached the apparition point, where Hermione felt herself wrapped in Snape's arms in what seemed an almost familiar way, and they disappeared with a pop. They reappeared in the small courtyard outside of the Leaky Cauldron, just before the entrance to Diagon Alley. He didn't let go of her. Instead, he pulled her to him closer, hanging on as if she was the life itself.

Hermione had no objections, and snuggled into his arms, feeling his pain passing through her. She would filter out the bad things, the thoughts of self-inflicted pain, everything. He needed her. He needed her.

'Thank you.' was all that he could say to her.

Hermione wondered if it would always be that way with him, but decided that she didn't want to think about it that way. She would just enjoy the gentle side of Snape for just a little while longer.

It didn't take long for them to gather together all of their outstanding Christmas presents after that, and then Apparate to his house in Yorkshire. Hermione was led to her room by a house-elf and left alone in the large room of his Victorian home. She collapsed onto the bed and closed her eyes.

She had poured out all of her special magic into Snape that day. It was her gift of healing the wounds that not many could. But she knew that she would be there to do that for him as long as he needed her.

With that final thought, she drifted off into a dreamless sleep…


	5. Part Five

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Five

_Me Falit – I do not know_… And in all honesty, Severus had absolutely no idea what the hell was wrong with him. He felt like something was tearing him apart every time he even saw her coffee eyes twinkle at him from behind those beautiful brown eyelashes. Every time she accidentally stumbled out of her room into him as he paced the hall outside her door, wondering if he should go talk to her about it.

But he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He was never good at confessing to his feelings, but it was harder then, more so than it had been when he hated her. But it was not true that he hated her. He simply did not know her.

But he knew her now, and she was a bright, beautiful, accomplished witch, that had no doubt begun questioning the reasons for why he would pace in that particular hallway of the house. There were plenty of other halls for him to pace holes through. But the difference was her. She wouldn't be just inside a door beyond those halls. She was behind the antique mahogany door on the second floor landing. The Rose Room, and aptly named because of the décor his mother had made him decorate it in all of those years ago.

He tried to avoid that room if he could help it. But he wouldn't have put her in any other room. She needed the Rose Room. Somehow, that room had chosen her. He hadn't told the house-elf which room to put her in, simply because she would be able to find it herself'.

And that was how he came to be standing immediately outside the door of said bedroom, early on the 25th of December. He clasped his hands behind his back. This time, he would actually knock on the door. And that was exactly what he did.

'Come in,' called the sleepy female voice from within.

Severus wasted no time, opening the door and pocking his head around to view inside. He was met by something completely unexpected. The room had changed. The curtains were no longer an awful shade of rose pink, but delightful silver. The bedclothes were in cream and rich burgundy, the sheets pure white silk. All signs of pink had been replaced with neutral shades of cream, burgundy-wine, and white.

'I'm sorry about the room changes. I just couldn't stand the pink after I woke up the first morning,' Hermione piped, interrupting his thoughts as she walked out of her bathroom clad in a white bathrobe, wet curls brushed back from her face and falling in a damp blanket down her back. 'Happy Christmas, Professor.'

'Happy Christmas, Miss Granger,' he replied, bowing slightly.

Hermione smiled and went to the drawers over one side of the room. She fumbled through the top drawer until she seemed to find what she was looking for and pulled a parcel wrapped in green out. She held it towards him. When he didn't take the hint, she walked over to him, thrust it into one of his hands, and closed his fingers around it. 'It's your present, sir,' she breathed out in frustration.

'Oh.'

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She sat down on the edge of the bed, and pulled him down to sit on it, and let her hands guide his own. She nudged his fingers into pulling away the silver ribbon that ensured that the rest of the parcel could be opened with ease. The paper fell away not long after that, and revealed a small box.

'Open it,' she said softy, rubbing her thumb over the back of his hand.

Severus lifted the lid off the box and gazed into it thoughtfully. His gaze fell onto the smallest of boxes. He would have sworn it was a ring box, if anything. He plucked it out and tried to open it, and when it didn't open, he looked at Hermione with a frown.

'What is this?' he asked hesitantly.

'I can't tell you. All I can say is that it won't open for you until the day I ask it to. And I can't let you open that for a while yet. I hope you can be patient?' she answered timidly.

Severus nodded. 'I can wait, but until then, I shall keep it with me always,' he said, slipping it into a pocket of his robes. 'Thank you, Hermione.'

'It was nothing,' she replied, stepping into the circle of his arms, and sitting with her legs thrown across his lap and arms around his neck.

Severus was a bit surprised when the young witch perched herself on his lap, but accepted it nonetheless. It was Christmas, after all. People could make _some_ sacrifices on the holiday. He raised one of his hands and summoned her gift from his bedroom wordlessly. A small box landed in his outstretched hand, and he passed it to Hermione.

'Now you will open your gift,' he stated clearly.

Hermione complied after a moment, but pressed on when his arms went back around her as he watched. He tightened his hold a little to indicate his impatience, and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She sighed and plucked off the golden ribbon, letting the marble-colored paper fall away to reveal a box. She opened it, and found the most beautiful platinum pendant she had ever seen. It was a Celtic cross with a knot overlapping it, and a small red jewel dotted in the centre. It was smallish, simple, yet beautiful.

Snape moved one arm off her, and took the pendant and simple chain out of the box and with one graceful hand, fastened it around her neck. Hermione looked down at it and smiled.

'Thank you, it's beautiful,' she said breathlessly.

She leaned forward a bit and locked her arms around his neck and pressed a small kiss to his cheek in the same way she had almost four months before. That time he had saved her from an allergy she had no idea she had. And he would probably be saving her for the rest of her life.

Severus was shocked by the kiss at first, but didn't make a big deal out of it this time like he had the last time. It was Christmas, after all. People did out-of-character things on the holidays all of the time. Severus pulled her closer to him in his lap, and returned the small intimacy with a brush of his lips across her cheekbone.

'Happy Christmas, Hermione.'

Hermione closed her eyes and rested her dampened tumble of curls against his chest, and let the confines of his arms hold her as close to him as possible.

Severus finally knew what he wanted. He wanted that very moment for the rest of his life. He wanted that stubborn, beautiful witch to be in his arms for as long as he could have her. The pain that he felt in his chest every time that he upset her, or saw her walk away, had not been just any common illness. He had finally fallen in love. She had slowly snuck past the defenses that had been safeguarding his heart for as long as he could remember. And what a beautiful creature she was.

He loved Hermione Jane Granger. The realization was fairly overpowering, but not totally unexpected. One of the reasons why he was so reluctant to take her on as an apprentice was because he knew how easy it would be for him to fall for her. And he had done so, hard.

'Professor… Severus?' Hermione said softly, rousing him from his thoughts.

Severus looked down at her immediately when she said his name timidly. His eyes were intense when they looked down into hers. Hermione looked back up at him with glistening brown eyes, lips parted slightly, breathing somewhat uneven. Severus felt a desperate desire just to plunge his tongue between those lips and devour every inch of her delicious mouth. But he fought it.

'How do you feel about breakfast in bed?' he asked softly.

'I think we are going to get along better than I thought,' Hermione said mischievously, smirking up at her Professor.

Snape smiled back at her just the slightest little bit, and clicked his fingers. An elf appeared, and looked at them shyly.

'Please have out breakfast brought up here, Jesse,' he said kindly.

The elf nodded, and left the room with a pop. Severus wriggled from beneath the witch and placed her gently back onto the bed. He settled on the bed next to her and leaned against the headboard slightly. Their breakfast arrived not long afterwards, and Severus found he was captivated by the way Hermione ate.

It was going to be a very Happy Christmas indeed…

--

_4__th__ of January…_It had been almost four days since New Year. It had been pleasant enough in the house since Christmas Day, although one thing had changed since then. Snape had not laid a hand on Hermione since their embrace on Christmas. He was sure that if he had her in his arms again, he wouldn't be able to maintain the self-control that he had.

She had almost completely undone him then, and she would most certainly break through this time. After that, he was almost certain that she wouldn't speak to him ever again. He slipped a hand into the pocket of his robes and clasped the small wrapped gift in his hand. Due to her use of the time turner, it was her 19th birthday that day as opposed to when it was supposed to be, and although he was sure that she would be receiving gifts from her friends, he had something special for her also.

And that was how he found himself pacing the dinning room before breakfast that morning as he anticipated her arrival at the breakfast table. When she walked in, his breath caught in his throat. She was positively luminous.

'Good morning, Professor!' she said cheerfully, bestowing a radiant smile on him.

'Happy Birthday, Miss Granger,' he replied, holding out the small gift in his hand, and smirking at the shocked look on her face.

'But I didn't even tell you when my birthday was…' she answered breathlessly, dropping into her seat at the table. 'How did you know?'

'Despite popular belief, I am capable of ridiculous inanities,' he snarked back. Hermione smiled at that, and took the gift from his hand, letting her fingers caress his palm as she accepted it.

Severus felt the brief contact tingle up his arm. She shouldn't have done that. He then turned to watch dutifully as she peeled off the layer of wrapping paper, to reveal a silver-dusted box. She opened the lid to find a platinum bracelet with a Celtic knot-shaped clasp, and tightly woven belcher links. It was a similar, simple style, just like the necklace she wore around her neck.

'Thank you,' she said softly. 'Will you put it on for me, please?'

It was the soft _please_ that undid him. He kneeled on the floor next to her chair, and plucked the bracelet out of the box and with a deft flick of his fingers, had it around her wrist and clasped firmly.

'Do you like it?' he asked quietly.

Hermione turned to him and blushed. She brought a hand to his cheek and caressed it ever so lightly. 'I love it, thank you.'

'Shall we have breakfast then?' he asked, pulling his body off the ground and returning to his seat at the table.

Hermione nodded, and they both ate breakfast in silence, until two owls floated through the window. The snowy-white owl that she had long come to know as Harry's owl Hedwig, landed gracefully before her and let her stroke the feathers, nipping at her fingers affectionately. The other dark-colored eagle owl, that she had more recently come to know as Artemis, the Malfoy owl, also perched itself beside Hedwig and waited to be preened. She took the note from both owls, who stayed put.

Apparently, they were going to wait for replies. She opened the one from Hedwig first, and was delighted to see a note from Harry attached…

_Hermione!_

_Happy 19__th__ Birthday! Sorry I haven't been able to write sooner, but there's more to do at the Burrow than we thought. How are things going with Professor Snape? I hope he's not being too awful to you. I have some great news to tell you, but you'd better read Ginny and Draco's letter before you start wondering what it is!_

_Love heaps,_

_Harry_

Hermione dropped that letter and immediately grabbed for the other letter, cracking Draco's Slytherin-green seal and chuckling. Trust Draco to be a Slytherin through and through. And that's when it occurred to her. She had been sitting in a room with a Slytherin the entire morning, and had hardly said a word to him since the post had arrived. She looked up to see a curious look in Snape's eyes.

'I'll let you know what Draco has to say once I've read it,' she informed Snape quickly, not wanting him to be left in the dark.

_Dear Hermione,_

_How are things with old Uncle Severus?_

Hermione snorted when she read that and looked over at Snape. Uncle Severus huh? She decided to file that away and keep it for another time.

_Happy 19__th__ Birthday, you old hag! The first week of the holiday with Mother and Father was painful. How have you been? Good I hope. If I ever hear that Uncle Sev has been giving you a hard time, I'll make sure he winds up with something up his nose._

Hermione laughed out loud at that and had to cover her mouth with her hand to muffle her giggles. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before returning her eyes to the parchment.

_Mr. and Mrs. Weasley said that they would be, and I quote, "delighted if Hermione would come for a visit," unquote. So if my sadistic old godfather will let you, come around to the Burrow today so we can give you your real birthday presents. Send your reply back with Artemis if you can!_

_Love Always,_

_Draco and Ginny_

Hermione handed the letter over to Severus wordlessly and smirked when she saw his expression as he read the note. Old hag? Uncle Sev? Sadistic old godfather? Severus felt Hermione's lingering gaze on him and felt his resolve crumble at her pouting lips.

'Oh alright, you can go,' he said with an exasperated sigh.

Hermione jumped out of her seat and hugged him around the chest briefly before rushing out of the room, and after five minutes, returning with a note for one of the owls to take. The two owls swooped out of the room, and so did Hermione. Severus waited for fifteen minutes before she returned wearing a pair of Muggle jeans, knee-length chocolate brown snow-boots, a cream-colored cashmere sweater and a brown scarf around her neck, with her hair pulled back in a loose braid.

Hermione felt exhilarated. She hadn't been able to wear her comfy Muggle clothes in such a long time, and it was good to be in them again. Severus saw how happy she was, and felt something like a dead weight drop into the pit of his stomach.

'Go now, and I don't want to see you back here until tomorrow morning,' Severus said, as an uncharacteristically kind gesture.

Hermione's eyes went wide. 'I can stay for the night?' she asked in amazement.

'Yes, now off with you,' he said reluctantly.

Hermione went over to him and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. 'Thank you so much, Professor. This has really made my day,' she said with a smile.

Severus felt his resolve growing weaker by the second. 'Happy Birthday once more, Miss Granger. Enjoy your stay with the Weasleys, and your break. Because as soon as you get back, we have lessons to plan,' he said with just a hint of mischief in his voice.

Hermione laughed lightly and stepped away, and Apparated from the room with a pop. Severus sat in his chair for ten minutes before it registered in his mind that Hermione was no longer there. He felt a pang of loss when he realized that she would not be returning to him until the next day.

But he knew that this was making her happy. And after all, that was exactly what he wanted. Her happiness, and would do anything to give that to her in the most discreet way possible.

He sighed and settled back in his seat. It was going to be a long twenty four hours.

--

Outside, the snow was swirling around and making the garden look like a winter wonderland. It was near midday when Hermione was settled in the sitting room of the Burrow near the fire, with her legs tucked beneath her and a small sad smile playing on her lips. She had been fed a second breakfast at the Burrow by Molly Wesley, who claimed that she was 'far too thin', and not long after, shoveled lunch in front of her. All the while, Harry, Ginny and Draco were laughing at the forced attentions she was receiving for her birthday.

'Is your stomach full to bursting yet, 'Mione?' Draco teased mercilessly.

Hermione threw him a rueful look as Harry and Ginny laughed at his comment. 'Molly sure knows how to force-feed a person,' she said simply.

She turned to look at Harry. 'Now, what was it that you were so eager to tell me in your letter, Harry?' she asked seriously, with a knowing smile on her face. Somehow, she knew Harry was going to tell her about a new girlfriend. It was one of the only things that ever made him perk up like he was then.

'Well, you see, Luna and I sort of got together when she came to the Burrow for a couple of days last week to visit Ginny…' Harry said, trailing his sentence of.

Hermione put a hand on his forearm and smiled. 'It's alright, Harry. I already knew that you had a thing for Luna. It was bound to happen some time,' she said, making the raven-haired boy blush.

'Oh.'

By this point, Ginny and Draco had become absorbed in each other and had moved to the other side of the room, and were snuggled together on the other couch in front of the fire. They were just far enough away to not be able to catch their conversation. Harry was looking at her meaningfully with his mouth quirked in a smile.

'Hermione, is there something you'd like to tell me?' Harry asked seriously.

Hermione sighed. She knew it had been coming. 'I met someone, you don't know him, well at least not like I do. But I have come to like him a lot,' she replied with an air of frustration. 'It's hard to explain exactly what I feel.'

'Say no more, 'Mione,' he said quietly, holding up a hand. 'I've had a pretty good idea that this has been coming for a long time now. Actually, I'm surprised that it's taken this long for you to realize it. I'm happy to accept this if he makes you happy.'

Hermione looked at her best friend of seven years hard, and smiled. She threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. 'Thank you, Harry. It was going to be hard enough for me to tell you all, but you've made it so much easier,' she whispered.

'It's alright, 'Mione. I figured that he was the one that gave you that necklace and the bracelet?' he asked curiously.

Hermione released Harry, and nodded. 'He can be very nice and docile sometimes, but he is still the snarky, taciturn bastard that we all know. But I love him for all of those things anyway. I love him the way he is,' she said, blushing a little at revealing her feeling to someone so openly.

Harry nodded understandingly. 'I know how you feel. I love Luna the way she is, with all of her quirks, and she loves me for me not for my status,' he admitted.

'Oh, Harry!' she exclaimed, before enveloping him in a tight hug again.

Harry patted her back tenderly and waited for her to regain her composure. After a moment, Harry spoke up again. 'So does he like you?' he asked carefully.

At that, Hermione gave a great heaving sob and whimpered into his shirt. She felt the tears stinging her eyes. He didn't like her. He even said as much to her last time she had asked. He was just being nice to her because he needed her. He was using her. But she was using him too. It just hurt a lot more to have to think about it.

'No, Harry. I don't think he likes me at all,' she answered through her tears. She couldn't explain to him anything. He trusted her to keep that between them. 'I think he respects me to an extent, but other than that, I am merely an annoying pest to him.'

'You're not an annoying pest, Hermione,' Harry cooed softly. 'Any guy would be nuts not to fall head over heels for you. The only reason why I never have is because you're like family to me. You're the only family I have.'

'You're the only family I have too!' she cried.

Hermione knew she was being pathetic. More than pathetic actually. She was practically wallowing in the maudlin self-pity. She pulled herself together as quickly as she could[] and broke away from Harry, brushing the tears away furiously.

She could never be worthy of Snape if she sniveled around like that. 'Sorry about that, Harry, my emotions are just running a little high lately. I don't usually break down like that,' she apologized.

Harry nodded. He agreed with her on that point. Hermione Granger was never emotional in front of her friends or anyone for that matter. Come to think of it, Harry was sure that he hadn't seen her like that since their fourth year after the Yule Ball. Since that night it was hard to get her to display emotions that well at all. 'Don't worry about it, 'Mione. Just try and perk up. Things will be fine in the end,' Harry hurried to reassure her.

Honestly, Harry really hated seeing his best friend like that. Oddly enough, they had only grown closer since her and Ron's messy break-up 4 months earlier. Ron had stuck with Dean and Seamus after that, and had moved on from Hermione. He was dating a Ravenclaw girl called Daphne Greengrass, but still didn't see fit to apologize to any of them for overreacting and storming off.

Harry knew that all of it was playing on Hermione's nerves because she had always hated the arguments between all of them, especially in their earlier years at Hogwarts. Back then, she had been really emotional about it, but now, she was subtle about her unhappiness.

'Let's leave the love-birds and go for a walk, huh?' Harry suggested. 'Maybe we can find the twins and take them on with a game of Quidditch, hmmm?'

Hermione laughed and nodded, getting out of the seat and following Harry out of the house through the back door. They found the twins over by the garden shed, and all of them grabbed a broom and a Quaffle, and headed to the Weasley's orchard. Hermione and Harry took on Fred and George, and in the end they tied.

Hermione had become confident in her flying abilities more recently and played a very good keeper, as did George, while Harry and Fred chased each other around, trying to knock each other off their brooms and score goals. Finally, when all of them were on the ground, the snow wars began. Hermione built a great fort for her and Harry with a wave of her hand, while George and Fred made fortress that was more like a mountain of snow, and flung snow balls all over the place.

When they were all shaking, wet and extremely cold, Harry picked up his broom and lifted Hermione's thin frame into his arms and carried her into the house chivalrously. When he deposited her on the floor in the kitchen her looked at her with deep concern.

'Mione, Mrs. Weasley was right. You are way too thin,' he commented seriously.

'It's just because I get too busy to eat sometimes. If I promise to take care of myself better, will you get off my case?' she said defensively.

Harry stuck his hand out and shook hers. 'Deal. Now get upstairs and get warm. I'll tell Ginny to get you some dry clothes to wear.'

When she was almost at the stairs Harry called out to her again. 'When will you be going, by the way?' he asked.

'Professor Snape said that he didn't want to see me back at his house until tomorrow morning,' she called down the stairs.

'So the great git does have a soul,' Harry joked, laughing.

Hermione's tinkling laughter floated down the stairs as she mounted them to find Ginny's room, and then go for a long, hot shower.

She hummed in contentment. Tomorrow could wait until then…

--

A/N – Yes, I do realize I go the birthday's mixed-up a little. My apologies, but just run with it anyway.


	6. Part Six

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Six

Of her own initiative entirely, Hermione had slipped quietly into Snape's office in the morning and placed the gift on his desk with a small note attached. She knew it wasn't really necessary, but it would be nice if at least one person acknowledged his birthday. Actually, she rather hoped he would like the crystal-topped, glass Potions vials she had gotten him. The school term had begun a mere two days beforehand, and she and Snape had been back at the castle since the sixth.

She sat at Snape's desk in the dungeon classroom watching carefully as her seventh year class brewed quietly. It was the ninth of January, and on top of it all, it was a damned Friday. What a day to have a birthday! She saw Harry and Draco working with each other quietly, chopping the ingredients with more efficiency than they had ever had while Snape was lurking over their shoulders in his most intimidating fashion.

She tore her eyes away from them and looked to where Ron and Neville were getting along rather well with each other. They had both improved so much. She had even noticed that Ron didn't seem as hostile around her as he had only two months before. It was mad to think that, only two and a half months before, he had hated her.

She pulled her father's old pocket-watch out of her robes and checked the time. There was still a whole hour until she could release them from their last class of the day. She sighed heavily, and bent over her fourth years' essays. So far, they were average, but at least they were passing. At that moment, the door opened and an impassive-looking Snape stood in the doorway, looking at her with cold eyes. Ah! How she had missed those eyes for the last few days. He had been fervently ignoring her wherever he could.

'Professor Snape, can I help you?' she asked him sweetly.

'May I see you in my office, immediately, Madame?' he said through gritted teeth.

Hermione blanched. His tone suggested he was not happy at all. She got up from the chair immediately and went towards the door.

'Certainly.' She turned to address the class. 'I will return promptly; continue your work in silence and do not blow anything up,' she warned seriously.

Before she could leave completely, Harry and Draco both gave her the most fleeting of sympathetic glances. She mouthed a quick 'Thank you' to them both and followed Snape next door.

Once the door was closed and a silencing ward was erected, Snape turned to face her, holding out the gift she had gotten him for his birthday. 'What exactly is the meaning of this, Miss Granger?' he demanded.

Hermione almost laughed out loud. And she was frantically thinking that it was something serious. She looked up at him with a smile.

'That, my dear Professor, is what most like to call a birthday gift,' she answered in an amused tone.

He raised a dark eyebrow at her and made a noise in the back of his throat. 'And what, pray tell, have I ever done for you that has prompted such a gift from you?' he asked stiffly.

'Well, aside from the fact that you unselfishly accepted me as your apprentice, I would say that risking one's neck for the sake of a few undeserving people would certainly do it. You were so kind to me over the Christmas holidays also. But that is not why I gave you the gift,' she said flatly. 'I gave it to you because it's your birthday. I give gifts to my friends on their birthdays.'

Snape looked shocked at her confession. 'Friend?' he asked thoughtfully.

Hermione nodded. 'Of course you are my friend. I respect you, I enjoy our conversations, and I enjoy your company… I think that classifies you as a friend,' she replied.

Severus could only nod as he stood in the presence of the amazing witch in front of him. How did she manage to do it? Every time she would do something else wonderful and amaze him even more, he felt his admiration, his attraction for her only heighten. He knew that the holidays had made him go soft, but now it was becoming more than apparent. It was not a good thing. He couldn't have feelings for her, it was unacceptable.

'Professor, if that is all, I have a class to teach,' she piped, interrupting his thoughts.

He looked at her, and gave himself a mental shake. 'Of course, Miss Granger, go teach those insolent delinquents,' he said sarcastically.

She laughed and went to the door, taking down the wards and unlocking it. He watched her leave the room, and then, on impulse, walked out after her, and caught her arm.

'Thank you, Miss Granger,' he said quietly, looking into her coffee-colored eyes.

'It was my pleasure, Professor,' she replied, slowly tugging her arm from his hold and slipping back into the classroom.

Severus walked himself back to his office and sat at the desk, examining the beautifully hand-blown, glass vials in front of him. Each had a different jewel as part of the stopper, and they glistened quite nicely in the light. He shook his head and left the office. He couldn't just sit there and stare at it for the next hour.

Miss Hermione Granger was proving to be harder to ignore than he had assumed. He had done it so well for six years; what was different this time? Well she wasn't just some silly little know-it-all, for one. She was a woman. A beautiful, intelligent, accomplished witch that had so much promise. Admittedly, he had accepted that he cared for her the night he had returned from the Death Eater meeting at Halloween.

Severus decided to go to the only place where nobody but Hermione would ever be able to find him. The quiet place by the lake had become her thinking spot as much as his own in the last month. She frequented there even more than he did if it were possible. But he needed the space now.

The gift had been most unexpected, especially from her. It was a beautiful gift, something both nice to look at, as well as being practical. Hermione was very sharp that way though. She was good at giving gifts because she got something that would both be loved and serve a useful purpose. He had seen the same thing when she bought gifts for her own friends.

'I thought you'd be out here,' a soft voice cut across his thoughts.

Severus turned his head just a little and caught sight of Hermione standing before him with her hand at the clasp of her robes as she unfastened it and sat next to him. He nodded and faced the lake once more.

'It's been a while since I've sat here with you, Professor,' she commented offhandedly, discarding her robe in a neat pile beside her.

'So it seems.'

'Are you alright?' she asked kindly.

'Miss Granger, why should that concern you?' he asked coldly. 'Wait, don't answer. Is it because I am your so-called friend?'

'Well yes, if you must know,' she said a little tersely.

Severus heard the change in her tone of voice. It would not be good if he wound her up too much, so he relented. He turned to her, gathered the small witch up into his arms and sighed in contentment. Yes. He liked this girl very much.

'Thank you for the gift, Hermione,' he said quietly.

Hermione was caught a little off-guard by this but relaxed in his arms anyway. She snuggled into his chest and breathed in his spicy, herbal scent, and felt a little breathless just in his arms. 'I'm beginning to enjoy this very much,' she sighed, wondering if he had heard her.

He said nothing, so she assumed he hadn't, and went on just resting in his arms, offering him that small comfort and closing her eyes. Severus let his arms tighten around her a little. He had heard the whispered words and felt a small rush of joy rush through him. She wanted to be there in his arms, unlike any other woman he had ever encountered; she wanted to hold him.

He should have thought about letting her go then, but didn't, he just relaxed as their bodies melted together. 'Thank you, Hermione,' he said quietly.

'I don't mind, Professor,' she replied, wishing she could call him Severus but not wanting to risk losing this closeness. She closed her eyes tighter, trying to fight the tears that were welling up in her eyes at the tenderness this man showed to her sometimes. 'I don't mind at all,' she found herself repeating.

Neither of them spoke after her final words that afternoon…

--

_10__th__ of January…_ Severus sighed deeply. The students had already been returned to the godforsaken castle for a few days now, and the new school term had well and truly begun. He was wishing that it was still holidays, and was beginning to become a little concerned by the fact that he had not been summoned to yet another Death Eater meeting. It was not that he minded not being there and constantly having hexes fired at him, it was just that it was unusual for the Dark Lord to remain dormant for so long.

He rubbed his left forearm unconsciously as he sat at the staff table contemplating his breakfast. There was nothing tingling or burning, no intrusions into his mind from some deserted moor, and not one single Death Eater had called for him to attend their Christmas or New Years "celebrations".

Actually, he had been left in peace. He decided then that he would have to see Albus about making up some hooey to feed the Dark Lord at the next meeting so that he remained in good favor with the cruel bastard.

He looked along the table at the Headmaster as he chatted to Professor Sprout on his other side, and saw the general good humor of his colleagues. He turned to the other side and saw that Hermione was engaged in conversation with the DADA professor, Allegra Cole. She had been the longest serving DADA professor at Hogwarts, remaining there for a record of almost two years.

He recalled disliking the woman initially, but eventually warming up to her. She was a good five years younger than he was, and he vaguely remembered her being a Ravenclaw third year while he was in his final year. She was a clever witch, no doubt, but still seemed to lack that certain glowing quality with which a certain other beautiful witch whom he was acquainted radiated.

'Isn't that right, Professor Snape?' a soft purring voice interrupted his thoughts as he stared absently at the students in the Great Hall.

Severus snapped his head around to face Hermione and Allegra, who were now looking at him expectantly. 'Pardon, but I do not believe that I am quite sure as to what I am supposed to be agreeing to,' he apologized formally.

'Never mind, Severus,' Allegra said with a small smile.

Hermione giggled a little, and shook her head at him, and Allegra joined her with - - was that a seductive laugh? Severus ducked his head a little, before realizing that he even performed such a self-conscious motion, and sat up stiffly in his chair. He picked up his fork and began attempting to shovel food into his mouth. He lost his appetite quickly, and excused himself from the table, forgetting his copy of the _Prophet_ and swirling out through the staff door. Hermione watched him leave with mild concern, but was careful to school her face to indifference as Professor Cole glanced out after him too. She looked at her food and quickly finished off her oats and drank her pumpkin juice. She nodded a quick goodbye to Allegra and grabbed two steaming mugs of coffee, putting a stasis on Snape's and walking at a leisurely pace down to Snape's office.

She reached the door and knocked, bumping it open a little more with her hip and walking through it. She deposited the mug of coffee in front of Snape and took the stasis off it before perching herself on the edge of his desk and sipping at her own mug. She saw him scribbling furiously at a piece of parchment and became intrigued.

'What are you working on?' she asked hopefully. Perhaps he would answer her.

'Nothing of great importance,' he answered dismissively. He really didn't want to answer her, so he picked up his notes for Dumbledore and deposited them in one of the drawers of his desk. 'Don't you have a class soon?'

Hermione jumped up from the desk hastily, putting her mug down on his desk. She almost spat it back into the mug as she fled from the room. 'Thank you for reminding me!' she called back to him as she hurried to her first lesson.

She bustled past her fifth years hurriedly, arms piled with their marked essays, and opened the classroom door for them to enter. She handed out their graded papers at the beginning of class and assigned them their potion for the day. She sat out the entire, painstakingly boring lesson, and released the students five minutes early from their double period.

Sighing, Hermione walked her way towards Snape's office, hoping that he would have a headache potion handy in his stores, and walked through the door without thinking to knock. What she saw both shocked her, and made the tears prickle in her eyes.

She watched faintly at Allegra Cole who had Snape pinned to his desk, hands in his hair, and her mouth pressed to his, hungrily devouring his lips. She gasped, which made Allegra cease the activity and spin around to look at her, eyes dilated and lips puffy from kissing.

'I – I'm so sorry…' Hermione stammered, the tears threatening to break from her eyes at any moment. She turned away back toward the door, and blinked, letting the tears fall, then ran from the office.

She ran all the way to her chambers and slammed her back against the wall to stabilize herself as she changed the password to _Hellebore, _then rushed through the opening made by the portrait. She slumped against the wall just inside the portrait hole and sobbed her heart out. She felt her chest ache and constrict, fighting to breathe, wishing that what she had just witnessed had been an illusion.

'It wasn't real. It was not real. That was not real!' she sobbed to herself over and over again.

She balled her fists and beat them against the ground fruitlessly. How could she have been so stupid? What could Snape possibly have seen in her when there was an attractive, older, and obviously more intelligent and intellectually stimulating witch around? She was definitely more curvaceous than she was, and had silky, straight blonde hair. And she was closer to his age.

She cried everything out of her system and didn't budge from the room for nearly an hour, until she heard frantic knocking on the portrait.

'Hermione, let me in! It's Harry!' yelled her best friend through the portrait.

Hermione stood up and wiped her tears off onto a handkerchief, composing herself a little before opening the portrait to him. 'What do you want Harry?' she asked with a strained voice.

Harry stood there, taking in Hermione's face, red from crying, and saw the tears still falling even though she wasn't making a sound. He held his arms out to her and she ran straight into them, letting out the most heart-wrenching sob that Harry had ever heard. He gathered her into his arms tightly and just stood there, letting his best friend cry on his shoulder.

He felt every tear, heard every cry, and felt every painful shudder or jerk that her body gave as she cried her heart out. After a while, Harry led her over to her chaise and sat her down, conjuring a box of tissues and settling it next to her. 'Hermione, Professor Snape sent me to look for you. You have missed teaching two classes now and he was getting worried about you,' he said carefully.

Hermione shot Harry a rueful look. 'He's not worried about me, Harry. He doesn't even like me one iota. All he cares about is me teaching his classes so he can go and have a great snogging session with his blonde tart!' she snapped angrily.

'You know that's not true, Hermione,' Harry said rationally.

'Of course it's bloody true; I saw it with my own, perfectly clear eyes! It couldn't have been clearer to me exactly what he was doing!' she yelled.

Harry looked down at her. Snape had come looking for him while he was in the middle of Charms. He had a wild look about him and his eyes had been fierce. He didn't know why, but Harry just knew that he was sincerely worried about Hermione. And now he knew why.

'Hermione, Professor Snape does not like Professor Cole. He likes you. I saw it when he came to get me. He was nearly out of his mind with worry. He sat at the opposite side of the table from Cole at lunch and he hasn't spoken to her the whole day,' Harry reasoned.

'I wish that I could believe you, Harry. But I can't get the image of Allegra-fucking-Cole kissing him out of my head. It was right there in front of me,' she said quietly.

Harry knew it was happening. Hermione would get all hysterical, and then she would go quiet, and in the end, she would become like a living statue. Harry looked down at his friend and sighed.

'It will work out in the end, Hermione…'

--

The potion made sharp hissing noises as it bubbled and frothed away. It was only simmering, but it felt like it was boiling over. Severus glanced at it and frowned. That potion had many similar characteristics to what had happened in his office almost three weeks before with Allegra Cole and his Hermione. He growled angrily under his breath at the thought.

That morning in his office had hit him hard, like a brick to the gut, and what made it worse was that Hermione was avoiding him at all costs for some reason. He was absolutely positive it had something to do with Professor Cole, but he just couldn't figure out what it could possibly be. After all, he didn't know the mind of a female.

He waved his hand over the flame beneath his cauldron and sighed. The flame reduced and the potion was simmered quietly. He wouldn't have to hear it, and therefore, would not be reminded of the stupid things he had done. His first mistake was allowing Allegra Cole into his office. His second was offering her something to drink, although he did so with a grudging voice. And the third was letting her pin him against a desk.

He had no idea that such a small witch would be capable of such a feat, and didn't particularly want to hurt a woman. He would not turn into his father. While he was having piteous thoughts, a voice broke through it rudely.

'Professor Snape, may I come in?' Harry asked carefully.

Severus looked up and saw the second most annoying part of his very existence. 'What do you want, Potter?' he asked roughly, trying to ignore him but failing.

'I came to talk to you about things… on a more... personal level,' Harry replied, looking the cold man in the eye hard with his defensive-looking green ones.

Severus sighed inwardly. Here it goes again. 'What?' he barked sharply.

'Professor, I need to ask you what your intentions towards Hermione are. And please don't tell me that it's none of my business, because it is. Hermione is the closest thing to family that I have left. She is my sister in every way except for blood. I am responsible for making sure that she never gets hurt,' Harry said seriously.

Snape snorted at his Gryffindor chivalry. He was going to take care of his sister? Why would he do that? 'Mr. Potter, I assume that everything that is said in this office will remain here, am I correct?' he asked cautiously.

Harry nodded. 'You have my word.'

'Very well then, I shall tell you exactly what happened, and then my feelings towards the incident,' he began effortlessly. 'That morning at breakfast, I noticed that Professor Cole was paying particular notice to me, and I left the meal early feeling quite uneasy…'

Harry nodded and gestured for him to continue.

'… She came down to my office just before I could leave to watch Miss Granger teach. I offered her something to drink, and when I had my back turned, she maneuvered around me and pinned me to the table before kissing me,' he spat out at if it were a bad taste in his mouth.

'I believe you, sir,' Harry said supportively.

'Well, at least you do. However, my final answer to your question is that I really do have strong feelings of admiration, respect and love for Madame Apprentice,' Snape said in a low growl.

Harry looked up at Snape in surprise. He was expecting some strange cover-up story where he was the victim alone to the particular woman's charms, but instead, got a completely truthful, unedited version of events from Snape. He loved Hermione, and that was good enough for him. She needed to be loved.

'I have one final question to you, sir,' Harry continues softly. 'What are your feelings about Professor Cole?'

Severus gave him both a disgusted and annoyed look. 'That woman infuriates me. She has nothing I desire.'

That was good enough for Harry as well. He nodded and walked to the door of the office. 'Thank you for clearing all of this up for me, Professor,' he said. 'Treat her right.'

Harry left swiftly through the door afterwards, leaving Snape alone to contemplate his thoughts. What on earth had driven him to confess his feelings to the boy wonder? He looked at his desk and sneered. He would need to redecorate his office now. Everything in there held only grave memories.

oO0Oo

_As he sat in his office, flicking through a Potions journal, Severus heard a knock on the door before Allegra Cole let herself in. She walked over to the desk and sat down on the chair in front of him. He was trapped into civilized conversation now._

'_Professor, to what do I owe this honor?' he asked sarcastically._

'_I merely wanted to discuss some things with you, Severus,' she said innocently, batting her eyelashes at him seductively._

_Severus raised an eyebrow. 'What could you possibly want to discuss with me?' he asked, standing and moving to his cabinet. 'Tea?'_

'_Yes, that would be lovely,' she answered, standing from the chair and taking a look about the room. _

_Snape watched from the corner of his eye in silence, and studied the witch as she picked up his books, twirled his quill between her fingers, and looked around his ordered office. He made the tea as quick as he could, and took it around to sit on the side that she was on. He spun around, only to be immediately pinned to the desk._

'_I came here for you, Severus,' she whispered into his ear before attacking his lips with her own._

_Snape kept his mouth firmly shut to her probing tongue and felt a little ill at her attentions. He tried to push her away. And that was when he heard the muffled gasp. His eyes snapped to the door, and Allegra stopped kissing him. _

_Hermione stammered, 'I – I'm so sorry,' before fleeing the room with tears in her eyes._

_Severus shoved the blonde witch pinning him to his desk roughly, and walked around to the other side of the desk to put distance between them. 'Professor Cole, I would appreciate it very much, if you did not return to my office or my classroom again,' he snapped at her, wiping him mouth with a clean white handkerchief. _

_Allegra glared at him for a moment. 'Why are you sending me away? I thought that you of all people would be up for some good shagging,' she said suggestively. _

_Severus looked at her with disgust. 'I am not, nor will I ever be, anybody's shag horse, Professor. Now kindly leave my office, and you would do well to remember to keep you distance from me. I am not a nice man, and I will not hesitate to hurt you next time you attempt something as completely pathetic as that,' he said dismissively. _

_The angry blonde witch turned on her heals and left the room in a huff._

oO0Oo

Severus thumped his hand on the desk angrily, and sighed. That stupid cow had caused him more trouble than she was worth. He now had a completely ignorant Potions Apprentice, her best friend hanging around and asking inane questions, and a pathetic witch lusting after him.

Somehow, he had lost the attention of the only woman he had ever had an interest in, gained the trust and support of her friend, and had yet another witch who would most likely seek out her revenge for his rejection of her one day. Everything seemed to be all wrong.

He looked up at the second knock on his door that morning, and looked up to his apprentice standing stiffly in the doorway. 'Can I help you, Miss Granger?' he asked softly.

'Yes, actually, I was wondering if you could take my fifth years today. I have and important meeting with the Headmaster…' she began, but he held up his left hand to silence her.

Just as he was about to speak, he felt a burning sensation rip through his arm, and he grabbed it with his free hand, moaning with the pain. 'Miss Granger, I'm afraid that something has come up and I must leave immediately. I'm sure Albus will let you reschedule the meeting, but for now, you will be taking my classes also,' he said through gritted teeth.

With that being said, he fled from the castle, wrapped in his Death Eater robes.


	7. Part Seven

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Seven

This time it was a house. It was a rather large and expensive one that was most likely the courtesy of one Lucius Malfoy. The odd thing about it though, was that Severus couldn't see the Dark Lord anywhere. Lowering his mask from his face, he went directly to his blonde former schoolmate and gave him a questioning look.

'Where is our Master, Lucius?' he demanded roughly.

'He couldn't attend. He said he was feeling a bit under the weather today, so he left orders with me to ensure that everyone enjoyed the afternoon,' he said with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

'What kind of fun are we talking about, old friend?' he asked curiously.

'Avery and Lestrange have gone to round up some Muggles for us. Entertainments should last us well through the night,' he said carelessly.

Severus cringed inwardly at Malfoy's crude recital of the afternoon activities. He couldn't do it this time. He just couldn't. He looked at Lucius square in his empty silver eyes and frowned. 'I cannot stay here for this, man. I have classes to teach this afternoon. People will begin to wonder where the hell I am. You will have to take part in the festivities without me,' he reasoned.

'Severus, you are under obligation to kill at least one of the Muggles. As soon as Bella and Theodore arrive, you can make your kill and go,' Malfoy drawled.

'I'm afraid that is not acceptable. I have been gone from Hogwarts for almost an hour now; I can not stay away any longer. Now, punish me for neglecting my duty, and send me on my way,' Severus said with an exasperated groan.

'Very well, old friend,' Malfoy said with a sigh. '_Crucio!_'

Severus fell to the ground, and felt the pain coursing through him. After a few minutes, someone began to kick him in the ribs, and one even landed a blow to his nose, which broke with a disgusting crunch. He was placed under the spell for a good thirty minutes, and when he was finally released, he coughed out a heap of blood and stood on shaking legs.

His body was shaking and convulsing with pain, yet he stood rigidly all the same, and nursed his broken nose in one hand and his broken ribs in the other. He Apparated into the Forbidden Forest and fell to the ground in a messy heap. His body convulsed yet again, and the pain was worse with all of the broken bones. Not many of the other Death Eaters, including Lucius, could ever last through that kind of torture. He was stronger than most of them. He would survive it.

He waited for a moment until the tremors became less intense and frequent, managing to haul himself into a sitting position against a tree. One step at a time… It was probably the worst he had been beaten in quite a long time. He pressed his wand to his nose and muttered a healing charm, and felt it hurt for a brief moment before the blood stopped flowing and the bones and cartilage moved back into their regular position.

Eventually, he managed to stand and stumble his way towards his hidden door and crash through into the castle, and somehow found his office. He threw himself into his chair, and summoned an elf.

'What can I do for you, sir?' asked the elf timidly.

'Go to the classroom next door. Summon Madame Apprentice to me, please,' he rasped painfully, straining to breath under the pain of his broken ribs.

The elf popped out of the room, and he settled down in the chair to find a position that was slightly more comfortable to him than the way that he was. He heard the door open, and saw Hermione slip into the room and gasp when she saw his state. She closed the door and put locking and silencing charms on it, and rushed immediately to him. By then, the convulsing had started again and he was shaking in the chair.

'Oh, sweet Merlin, what happened?' she asked faintly, tugging the Death Eater robes off him quickly before rushing to the potions cabinet and retrieving the Cruciatus Potion. She yanked the stopper off it roughly and tipped it down his throat, massaging his neck muscles to make him swallow it properly through his spasms.

Snape coughed up a lot of blood after swallowing and slumped into the seat. 'Miss Granger, would you mind terribly if I asked you to heal my broken ribs?' he asked quietly.

'Of course not," she replied, complying with his request straight away.

Severus watched her as she ran her wand over his chest, and he felt the bones knitting themselves back into place beneath his shirt. He studied her posture and saw that she was rigid with shock almost, and saw the concern in her eyes. She was still mad at him, no doubt, but somehow, seeing him wounded so badly had an affect on her sensibilities. When she was done, he took her hand in his gently and closed his eyes.

'Thank you, Hermione,' he said quietly.

He pulled her hand up to rest over his chest, right above where his heart was beating furiously. He knew that she could feel his heart pounding beneath her hand. But he wanted her to feel that. He wanted her to know what she did to him. 'Hermione, can you feel that?' he asked in a strangled voice.

'Yes,' she said breathlessly.

'Do you know what it means?' he asked, rubbing small circles over the back of her hand. 'Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?'

'I – I don't know,' she admitted, letting her other hand travel up his chest to cup his face gently in it. She brushed her thumb across his bloodied cheek, and he heard the soft sob escape her throat. 'Who did this to you?'

'Lucius, among others,' he replied. 'I couldn't fulfill my duties today. I asked to return to Hogwarts. There was going to be a mass Muggle slaughter at this so-called party.'

'Oh Gods, how on earth are you still living?' she asked softly, searching his tired face for an answer.

'Sheer dumb luck,' he replied, imitating what Minerva had once stated to the Gryffindor three after their run-in with the troll in their first year.

Hermione looked at her pocket watch quickly and pulled away from him. 'You need to get some rest, and I have to go back to teaching my class for the next hour. Go to your chambers and take a Dreamless Sleep,' she suggested thoughtfully.

Severus nodded and stood, and suddenly he realized something that he should have known all along. He grabbed Hermione's hand before she could leave, and held her still. 'Hermione, I don't have any feelings for Professor Cole. She tried - but I shoved her away and told her never to return. I would never abuse your trust that way,' he said softly.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she nodded and pulled her arm away from him, then went back to her class. Severus, feeling slightly better, did as she said and went to his chambers. He took a hot shower and lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, not bothering with the Dreamless Sleep, and dozed for a while.

About an hour and a half later, he heard the door to his bedroom open, somewhere in his semi-sleeping state, and felt his eyes flicker open. He might as well wake up; Albus would be expecting a report soon anyway.

He felt the mattress dip a little on one side, and rolled over to see Hermione looking down at him with tear-filled eyes. 'I'm sorry, Hermione,' he said softly, reaching up a hand to brush away the tear that had begun to travel down her cheek.

'I forgive you,' she replied, touching his now-clean cheek with her hand lightly.

'I don't deserve your forgiveness,' he said seriously.

Hermione moved closer and leaned forwards, brushing her lips over his tenderly. He pressed his mouth back against hers more firmly, and drew her closer with his arms now around her waist. She moaned softly when his tongue began to trace her lips before it pressed against them, begging entrance.

Severus only pulled back when the need for oxygen became paramount, and they were both panting heavily, lips swollen from their heated kisses. By this point, Hermione was resting on top of him, forehead pressed to his, and hands rested on his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

'No turning back, Severus,' she said quietly.

Snape nodded in agreement. 'No turning back…'

--

The silvery orb floated in the dark sky above the grounds of Hogwarts. Funnily enough, the moon was the same every night, although this night it was particularly special to a certain brilliant witch and the wizard she had wrapped firmly around her small frame. Severus sat with Hermione between his legs, arms wrapped firmly around her petite waist, and chin resting on the crown of her head.

She pressed her back into his chest and rested her head back on his shoulder slightly and hummed in contentment. It had been an extremely tense week after Severus had returned from the Malfoy's celebrations; although, with Hermione around, it all became a little more bearable. Severus and Hermione had come to a compromise, and decided it was best if they kept their relationship a secret for the time-being.

'You're shivering, Hermione,' Severus noted softly.

'Hmmm, I'm a bit cold,' she replied sleepily. It was Friday, finally, and she had a perfectly relevant excuse to be so tired. It had been a long week for everyone.

Severus opened his cloak and drew her into it, wrapping both the cloak and his arms back around her and pulling her closer, if it were possible. To anyone who saw them, this would have looked extremely romantic or sweet, but if they were to take a second look, they would probably faint from seeing Professor Snape, of all people, hugging Hermione Granger under the stars.

Severus was not usually an openly demonstrative person, but he felt that he somehow owed Hermione the intimacy for being there for him whenever he was tempted to do something irrational. Besides, he liked to be able to show her how much he cared for her without actually having to say it.

'Better?' he asked quietly.

'Hmmm, yes, much better,' she answered, turning a little in his arms to give him a brief peck on the cheek.

They hadn't been able to spend any spare time together during their first few days as a "couple" because of all of the Potions work they had to catch up on from the time when she had been ignoring him. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to complete, but at the end of it, both were completely beat.

'I think it would be as appropriate a time as any to let Mr. Potter know about our... changed dynamics,' Severus said offhandedly.

'Why does Harry need to know?' Hermione questioned.

'Because he saw fit to give me the over-protective brother speech on how to treat you, my dear, and because he is aware of both of our feelings regarding... us,' he replied quickly.

Hermione let out a small giggle before promptly beginning to laugh properly, the vibrations buzzing against Snape's chest. 'He did that?' she asked in between gasps and giggles. Severus nodded, and she doubled over with laughter again. 'Imagine, scary Professor Snape being given "the talk" by one of his own students, and Harry Potter, his greatest foe, no less,' she laughed.

'Miss Granger, I would appreciate it if you would cease destroying what little there is left of my pride. You had better not start broadcasting that around the school or I could become a taciturn man,' he said smarmily.

'Hmmm, and as if you weren't enough of a grump already,' she retorted wittily.

'That'll be enough out of you, Madame,' he said, hugging her around the middle tighter, and kissing the top of her head.

'Alright grumpy, let's go inside,' she said with a cheeky grin.

'Agreed, you'll catch your death in this cold,' he agreed hastily, slipping out from behind her and standing up. 'Coming?' he asked, holding a hand out to her.

Hermione took his hand and allowed him to pull her smoothly from the ground. She slipped her hand into the crook made by his elbow and together they made their way back to the castle. Once inside, Severus threw his damp cloak onto the chair in his office near the fire to let it dry, and went back to his chambers to find Hermione flicking through the books on one of his many shelves.

'Find anything you particularly like?' he asked, coming up behind her and resting a careless hand on her jutting hip.

'Perhaps,' she answered mischievously, spinning around to wrap her arms around Snape, the book lying all but forgotten on the shelf. 'But it is not exactly a book.'

'Is that so?' he asked in a low growling voice. 'Perhaps you would like to enlighten me?' he suggested, grabbing her by the hips and pulling her flush against him.

Hermione's eyes fluttered closed a little and she took a shaky breath as she felt the thrill of emotions running through her the way that it always did when she was so close to him. 'Well, some would say he was pale and brooding,' she started, kissing one of his cheeks. 'But I like to think of him as mysterious and brilliantly dark,' she continued brushing a kiss over the other cheek.

'I know that most question his temperament,' she said quietly, kissing one corner of his mouth. 'But I like that. He is always good for spurring on an argument, and I am exhilarated by him.' She then places a kiss to the other corner of his mouth. 'And of course, he is the only man I have ever truly loved,' she finished, before pressing her lips to his hungrily.

Severus responded in kind, kissing her back with fervor to rival all. His tongue swept into her mouth and tasted every sweet part of it, like a conquering general on a battlefield, taking every advantage and going home victorious.

She moaned, and he pulled away. 'Hermione, we have to stop,' he said breathlessly.

'Stop what, Severus?' she asked, giving him a sultry smile.

'You know very well what. If we don't stop now, I will take you right here on the oriental rug in front of the fire,' he reasoned.

'And that is a bad thing because…' she asked, running her hands over his shoulders.

'Because you are my apprentice and have been left in my care. And because I have done too many terrible things to people in my entire life, and ruining your chances of settling down and having a reasonable marriage is not a mistake I am about to make,' he said firmly.

Hermione sighed and looked up into his obsidian eyes. 'Don't be daft, Severus. You're the only man I ever want to marry,' she replied seriously, emphasizing her point by pressing herself against him closer.

Severus was dumbfounded to say the very least. The woman standing in front of him, looking up at him with expectant brown eyes, the only woman he could ever picture a life with, admitted to wanting him and only him for the rest of her life also. 'You wish me for a husband?' he asked quietly, voice filled with wonder.

'Only you,' she breathed.

'Will you have me, then?' he asked seriously. 'Will you have me as your husband and promise to be my wife?'

'Yes.'

That was all he needed. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, and with all of the love he had in him. That was a kiss of promise. Not only for her, but for him as well. 'Then, I suppose we'd better get organized,' he growled into her ear when he pulled away.

'Organized for what exactly, dear?' she asked, feeling like Molly Weasley for calling him that.

'Well, you just agreed to be my wife, and I will not wait to get married to you. I want you bound to me as soon as possible, which means that we will have to find a person each to stand as witnesses to our marriage. We can ask Dumbledore to perform the private ceremony,' he answered as if the answer were so obvious.

'You want to get married this weekend?' she asked unsurely.

'Yes.'

'Well, I guess I can't argue with that,' she replied with a giggle, and hugged Severus close. 'Let's go get ready, then?'

'Exemplary idea, witch,' he replied, stooping to give her a chaste kiss. 'There is much to be done.'

--

The bright green eyes of the young wizard couldn't have looked more like the twinkling eyes of Albus Dumbledore at that very moment. In fact, Severus had only seen the Headmaster just under an hour ago, and hadn't quite recovered from that light show, and was now confronted with the twinkling of yet another set of eyes.

'You're serious, aren't you?' Harry Potter asked him, eyes growing to the size of plates.

'Yes, Potter, I am marrying your best friend, and yes, I am asking you to stand as my witness, purely because you are one of the only people aware of our current... situation, and because it would please my Hermione,' he drawled sardonically.

One thing Harry admired about this man was his determination and his steadfast ways, even in the worst of times when he was being an old, sarcastic bastard. 'Well, then I'd better stand for you,' Harry replied with a laugh.

'Thank you,' Snape said with a deep sigh.

'When will I be expected?' he asked the older wizard.

'Tomorrow is Sunday; therefore, I hardly think that it would be appropriate for an early ceremony, so I arranged for it to be in the evening. You will be required in the Headmaster's office at five o'clock sharp. Dress should be formal,' he listed off flatly.

'I'll be there,' Harry said, getting out of the chair in Snape's office and walking out just as Hermione walked in.

'Hello, love,' she said with a cheerful smile. 'What was Harry doing here?'

'I asked him to stand as my witness,' he replied, grabbing her by the hips, and tugging her to sit across his lap in the chair behind his desk.

Hermione looked at him in amazement. 'You asked Harry?'

'I thought you might be pleased. However, have you found someone equally as suitable to stand with you?' he asked seriously.

Hermione nodded. 'I just got back from asking Luna Lovegood. And before you ask why I did not tell or ask Ginny, it's because Ron is her brother, and even though we are not on the best of terms, she's his sister, and I don't want her to have to keep secrets from him,' Hermione replied, reasonably pleased with her decision.

'Excellent point, my dear. This is exactly why you are my witch and not some other dunderhead's. You're entirely too practical at times,' he said jokingly.

'This coming from Mr. Practicality himself,' she teased back playfully, giving him a tentative kiss on the lips. 'But thank you, and I'm glad you approve.'

'What are you talking about; I hardly had a say in the matter anyway. Although I am glad that you've decided not to share this with the Weasleys or Minerva. Merlin only knows that Minerva would have my head on a platter if she ever found out that I was cavorting about the castle with her prized student,' he said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Hermione laughed. 'Let's get to bed. It's getting late, and we have a big day tomorrow,' she said with a warm smile.

'Of course, you're right, my witch,' he said, giving her a peck on the cheek and lifting her off his lap.

They both went their separate ways - Hermione to her chamber's, stomach crawling with anticipation, and Severus to his, mouth twitching into the first genuine smile he had smiled in a very long time.

--

Severus flicked open the button at his neck and loosened the ridiculous neck tie, realizing, for the first time, just how stupid and impractical a thing it was. He looked at his polished black shoes and then back to the raven-haired best friend of his wife-to-be. Why was he suddenly nervous about this? Was it always going to be this way when he was waiting for her?

Perhaps it would, but he really didn't mind. As long as he would be seeing her at the end of it, everything would be fine. He straightened himself out, and stood still in a very Snape-like manner. He couldn't let down his ruse just because it was his wedding ceremony in just a few short minutes.

'How are you feeling, Professor?' Harry asked evenly.

'How does it look, Potter?' he grumbled back.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off when both men saw their women walking through the door into Dumbledore's office. Hermione was dressed in a simply cream-colored gown that had no straps or sleeves, and fell gracefully to around her knees. It swished a little around the bottom as she moved. Her hair was pulled back in a loose, but tidy knot, and was adorned with a few small white roses, and her neck was adorned with the necklace he had bought her, and her wrist with the bracelet. And finally, her heart hand had the platinum engagement ring with the Celtic knot woven over the top of it resting at the base of her finger, waiting for the plain platinum partner to join it on her finger.

Luna was dressed similarly, in a deep wine gown that had spaghetti straps and went just a little above her knees, her straight blonde hair swept back in a neat braid. She was a good couple of inches shorter than Hermione, although, it wasn't surprising considering that Hermione was tall for a female anyway. The two women provided a beautiful contrast to each other; Hermione with her dark hair and light gown, and Luna with her fair hair and darker gown.

Hermione stood next to Severus and clasped his hand in her own, and turned to face Dumbledore, who had managed to sneak in some time while Severus and Harry had been transfixed on their beautiful partner[]s. The old wizard cleared his throat and smiled warmly at them all.

'Let's begin then, shall we?' he said cheerfully.

Hermione and Severus nodded together and smiled at each other, all of their earlier nervousness replaced with a rush of sheer innocent joy.

'Do you, Hermione Jane Granger, wish to take Severus Tobias Snape as your husband, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, to honor and love for the rest of you life?' Albus asked seriously.

'I do so wish.'

'And will you, Hermione, promise fidelity to Severus only, for so long as you both shall live? He asked.

'I will.'

'Excellent,' Albus said, and then turned to Severus. 'Do you, Severus Tobias Snape, wish to take Hermione Jane Granger as your wife, to love and to hold, in sickness and in health, in life and in death, to honor and love for the rest of you life?'

'I do so wish.'

'And will you, Severus, promise fidelity to Hermione only, for as long as you both shall live?' he asked.

'I will.'

'Do you have an exchange of rings you would like to perform?' Dumbledore asked, looking at them both.

Hermione nodded, and looked at Severus. 'Do you have that box I gave to you at Christmas?' she asked. He nodded and retrieved it. She took it and whispered to it, and it opened. She plucked a plain platinum band out of it and tucked the box back into his pocket, and quickly slipped the ring onto his finger, blushing slightly. 'Take this ring as a sign of my love and loyalty to you.'

Severus repeated the exchange, and soon, both of them were pronounced as married, and the papers were signed by all there. They both thanked Luna and Harry repeatedly, and Flooed straight to his chambers from Albus's office. They collapsed on the bed together, and two hours later, were lying naked and sated amongst his black silk sheets, holding each other, and murmuring sweet nothings to each other.

'I love you, Severus,' Hermione said sleepily.

'And I love you, Madame Snape,' he replied, kissing her on the end of the nose, and closing his eyes to get ready for the best sleep in his life.


	8. Part Eight

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Eight

As the light began to filter through the silver curtains drawn about the finely carved, four-poster bed, the soft moans of waking could be heard. Severus groaned slightly and took a deep breath and felt a small, warm hand press up against his naked chest. He opened his eyes and looked down at his wife. His chest swelled when he thought those two words – his wife.

She looked so peaceful and beautiful just laying there in the circle of his embrace, chest rising and falling softly as she breathed, and a small, contented smile playing about her lips. She looked amazing to him.

Her eyes flickered open a little when he shifted his arms. She looked up at him with a sleepy smile, and sighed. 'Good morning, Severus,' she said softly, thinking about what had made him so tired. Her husband had been insatiable the night before. 'It's Saturday morning,' she commented lightly.

'Yes, wife,' he agreed readily. 'And you know what Saturday morning means, don't you?' he added mischievously, stroking a hand over the bare flesh of her hip.

'Indeed,' she purred, pushing him to lie flat on his back, and moving to straddle him.

Severus allowed her to take control of the situation as he had been so demanding and controlling the night before. His back was still aching numbly in the places where she had dug her nails into it, and it was nice to be the passive party for once.

Hermione leaned forwards and brushed her lips across his gently, teasingly almost, as she fisted a handful of his silky black hair, and pressed her lower body into him. Severus groaned, and flicked his tongue out to taste her lips as she teased him into early arousal. Soon their kiss became frantic, and Hermione couldn't stand the tension pooling between her thighs any longer.

She slowly impaled herself onto her lover's hardened member, both releasing a hiss of pleasure when he was fully sheathed inside of her. 'Gods, Severus,' she mewed breathlessly.

He smiled into her eyes, and twitched his hips up a little and gave the tiniest thrust to get her moving atop him. She complied quickly and slowly moved up until he was almost completely out, and downwards more quickly to sheath him once more. Soon, the slow, leisurely movements were not enough, and both sped their movements and a while after, they reached their climaxes together and shouted their completion.

'I love you, Severus,' she breathed, as they moved to rest above the covers in a hopeless tangle of limbs and bed clothes.

Severus spooned up behind her once they were able to remove themselves from the sheets, pressed his entire length against her back, and curled into her. She pressed back and snuggled into him, trying to regain a regular breathing pattern. 'I love you too, my witch,' he replied, stroking her bony hip and cupping her right breast with the other hand.

'I can't believe it has only been three weeks,' she sighed.

'It feels as if it has been an entire lifetime,' he agreed softly. And it was true. Severus had never felt as fully content in his entire life as he did with the witch in his arms. She was everything to him.

The only problem was going to be the Dark Lord. He had no idea what he was going to do with that problem, let alone how he was going to handle the next Death Eater meeting. He was absolutely certain that he would be made to kill someone this time, although now, he could handle that with Hermione by his side. She really was his saving grace.

If he didn't know any better, she seemed to be the cure for everything that had ailed him. He hadn't cut himself in months because he hadn't really had a need to. The strange thing was, he still needed her touch.

But he supposed that all came with the fact that she was his wife. Severus understood that it had all been a rather sudden change, but he needed that kick in the arse to set his mind in the right direction. The one thing he was certain of in their marriage, however, was that it would hold strong no matter what. He would never intentionally hurt her ever, and Merlin help anyone else who even attempted to do that.

'Severus, you're awfully quiet,' Hermione noted softly, turning in his arms to press her front against him instead.

'I was just thinking about us, love,' he replied in his deep, thoughtful voice. 'Don't worry about it being anything bad. It's not.'

Hermione simply nodded and began to press small kisses to his lightly-haired chest. She nipped, licked and pecked everywhere, massaging the knots out of the muscles in his back as she peppered his chest with her affection. 'I'm not the one who is worrying, Mr. Squiffy,' she teased, poking him gently in the chest.

'This coming from the woman who went out of her mind and fainted at the end of her N.E.W.T's, for which she scored the highest NE.W.T. In over one hundred years, might I add,' he said in a classically snarky response.

'Alright, you win, husband of mine,' she relented with a giggle.

'I always do,' he said with more than just a hit of pride. Hermione swatted him over the shoulder gently and gave him a sweet kiss before pulling away and slipping off the bed.

'And just where do you think you are going, wife of mine?' he called after her as she slipped into the bathroom. He admired her skinny little butt as she scuffled away, and her toned muscles. Whatever did she do to keep that fit?

The nest thing he heard was a muffled response that sounded something like _'I'm going to visit the zoo_,' before the bath taps turned on and the water began to flow into the tub. She poked her head out the door and smiled at him. 'I'm going to take a bath. Care to join me?' she asked with a suggestive grin.

Severus forced himself into a sitting position and could feel his arousal beginning already. He slipped off the bed and into the bathroom, watching speculatively as his wife dipped a toe into the water to test the heat before sinking an entire toned leg in and hissing with pleasure. She climbed in pretty swiftly after that, and beckoned him to do the same. He climbed in behind her, and sighed with pure bliss as the reasonably hot water soothed his aching joints and catered to further his arousal.

This was not going to be a quick bath, he could tell. He grabbed the sponge and began to wash her clean with the soaps that were in the water before adding another gelatinous soap to the washer and rubbing it over her body, paying particular attention to her small, yet proud breasts.

'Severus…' she moaned softly.

'Yes, love,' he answered, kissing her neck slowly before washing over the tender flesh with the soapy water.

'Please!' she begged, as he ran a long finger down her abdomen before stopping to part her lower lips. 'Please!'

'Please what, my witch?' he teased, letting a finger caress dewy flesh.

He stopped the movement in his hands and removed them from her. There would be no more teasing that morning. It was just getting him aroused, and soon his would be spurting off in the bathtub like some errant schoolboy.

Hermione groaned at the loss, and turned to straddle him in the bath. He thrust up into her quickly, and pounded into her as hard and as fast as he could, encouraged by her moans and shouts for more. They soon both found their release and slumped into the warm water, then simply resumed the task of bathing each other.

Once he was bathed, she kicked him out of the tub and out of the bathroom so that she could finish bathing herself without any distractions so that they could emerge from the dungeons and actually make an appearance at the Great Hall for breakfast. She dried off her body when she got out, and summoned a clean set of apprentice robes and some plain navy trousers and a white blouse to don beneath it. Tucking the shirt neatly into her pants, she threw on the robes, and met a strictly-dressed Severus in his unrelieved black attire, waiting to escort her to breakfast.

They walked up together, both aware that they were a little late, so they made haste. When they arrived, they turned a few heads at the staff table, all of whom were still oblivious to their marital status. Snape pulled Hermione's chair out for her before seating himself and beginning their breakfast. He was simply ravenous from the night before and that morning.

'Severus, you're never late,' Minerva commented, making him almost choke on his food, and Hermione had to stifle a giggle.

The humour and positive delight in Albus Dumbledore's eyes could not have been more apparent…

--

Guilty minds were always such troublesome parts of human existence, whether it was in the Muggle or wizarding world. There was always going to be a sense of simmering regret. The things Hermione tended to regret the most involved her failed friendships and relationships with Ron. Although the hot-tempered red-head drove her past the point of insanity at times, she still admired him for some of his qualities.

There were also the smaller regrets that she had. Like not involving her parents in her life while they were still around, or keeping her husband a secret from Ginny and Draco. They were, after all, two of her very best friends.

Come to think of it, she felt pretty bad not telling Minerva, as the woman had been so supportive of her during her mourning period for her parents. In a way, the older witch had become like a substitute mother of sorts. Not quite the same, but then again, Minerva probably knew her better than even her own mother did.

She frowned at the realization and shook her head, and looked up from her essay grading to find a dark figure looming in the doorway to her office. She started in her seat, but relaxed when she saw her husband step into the light a little.

'Severus, you startled me,' she exclaimed with a squeak.

'You looked busy, I didn't want to interrupt,' he answered to her comment indifferently. 'You were frowning.'

'Just thinking a bit,' she replied.

'What was on your mind?' he asked curiously.

'Mum, Minerva, Ginny, Draco – Ron,' she recited carefully, knowing that he might react a little to the last name. And he did just that.

'Why were you thinking about Weasley?' he asked in a slightly agitated tone.

'Not really about him, Severus,' she said in an exasperated voice. 'I was thinking about our destroyed friendship, and how my mother and I didn't know each other, and how I feel like I'm deceiving everyone by not telling them about us.'

Severus nodded simply, and closed the door behind him as he moved to stand behind her. He rested his hands on her shoulders and began to soothe the tension in them gently.

'It's alright to be frustrated, love. If it were possible, I would declare you as mine from the top of the Astronomy Tower,' he said smoothly.

Hermione sighed softly in contentment, and turned her head just a little bit to press her lips to one of the knuckles massaging her shoulders.

'Thank you, Severus. You are wonderful.'

He snorted and made a slight choking noise at the back of his throat.

'If I was _wonderful_, as you so incorrectly put it, I would not have a godforsaken skull tattooed onto my left forearm,' he said derisively, feeling a little of his old self-loathing seep back into his demeanour.

Hermione shrugged his hands off her shoulders and stood up, turning to face him and cup his jaw in one of her small, delicate hands.

'Don't be foolish, Severus. Everyone makes mistakes. Yours was made too long ago to still worry about, but think of it this way; if you didn't have that mark of your decisions made in your youth, the Order wouldn't have the most superlative and attractive spy on its side,' she said, smiling brightly.

Severus smirked at her last sentence, and reversed their positions, cupping her jaw and tilting her face up to kiss her on the lips soundly. He managed to fasten his lips and teeth on her neck, and nipped and sucked gently on her pulse point. Hermione giggled a little and put her hands on his chest and gave him a slight push.

'Severus,' she warned, 'you're going to leave a mark!'

'That was my original plan.'

'I can't walk around the bloody school with love bites all over my neck. I accidentally appeared like that at dinner a few times, and the others are getting suspicious!' she hissed, as he continued his sampling of her skin.

'You can, and will, wife,' he growled into her neck. 'I like seeing my mark on you. YOU. ARE. MINE!' he declared as an afterthought.

Hermione relented and let him continue, and glanced down at her watch with carefully-placed nonchalance.

'Severus, stop I have another class now,' she said, giving him a reluctant push.

He stopped his onslaught and moved away as she collected the freshly-marked essays from her desk, and walked past him briskly, to set up the classroom for her seventh years. Severus followed his wife and sighed, taking his now regular seat at the back of the classroom.

Hermione went to the desk at the front and started to wave her hand for the instructions on the board just as a number of voices chattering alerted her to the arrival of her seventh year class. She smiled at all of them, letting a longer grin linger on Harry and Draco momentarily and cleared her throat.

'The work is on the board. Retrieve your started potion from last lesson and continue with it,' she said, picking up her essays. 'I will be returning your graded homework from yesterday.'

Hermione wandered around the classroom, handing out the essays, and sneaking a peak at a bored-looking Severus at the back of the class room with her peripheral vision. She smirked in a very Snape-like manner, and went to Harry and Draco last, as they were on the opposite side of the classroom from everyone else. Hermione was glad for the privacy, however. It gave her a chance to talk to them in class.

'Here are your essays, boys,' she said in hushed tones.

Draco looked at her in astonishment.

'Wont Snape yell at you for talking to students in class time?' he whispered frantically.

'I can handle him just fine, Draco,' she said, folding her arms over her chest disdainfully. 'And don't ask how.'

At that Harry began to laugh, and had trouble trying to do it quietly, so it all came out as sort of a snorting noise.

'Yeah, Hermione can handle him very well,' he joked, although it did have some truth to it.

Draco looked from Harry to a furiously blushing Hermione.

'What are you twats talking about?' he asked curiously. 'And why do you have a love bite - - wait. Hermione, you have a love bite on your neck! Who gave you that?'

Hermione let her eyes travel to Severus for a moment before looking Draco in the grey eyes. His eyes widened in realization, and he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, gaping at her.

'You're dating Severus Snape? My godfather, Severus?' he asked incredulously.

'Not in so many words, Draco,' she replied.

'Well, what is going on then?' he insisted, prodding her for an answer as Harry stirred their potion, and began to chop the daisy roots.

'Draco, he's my husband,' she said with a sigh.

'Husband? You married him?' he stammered.

Harry patted him on the back reassuringly and smiled at Hermione.

'Very nicely worded, Madame Snape,' he whispered under his breath.

Hermione gave him a look and he shut his mouth, although the insufferable grin was still lingering.

'Congrats, kid,' Draco said, beaming up at her. 'He really needs someone like you in his life, and who better than the Head Girl of Hogwarts, Gryffindor, and female from his rival house.

Hermione smiled and rubbed at her neck a little.

'My whole body is hurting,' she admitted softly. 'And I can't cast a glamour over it without a mirror.'

'You're still as smart as hell,' Harry piped uselessly.

Hermione laughed, and left them both to continue her walk around the classroom…

--

_A woman curled in a pathetic heap, writhing beside a careworn lump of a man, both shrieking in pain._ Flash_. The cold empty eyes of the man look up at her._ Flash._ The green light floods the room and the screaming ceases._ Flash._ Gleaming red eyes filled with absolute glee look at her, and the silence is replaced with shrill laughter, sick laughter, twisted laughter, cruel laughter. _Flash. _The cruel smile disappears and the wand the monster is holding is pointed towards her__. H__e opens his mouth to speak those last two words she would ever hear…_

'No!' Hermione cried, as she sat bolt upright in the bed, tears streaming down her face and breathing uneven.

That had been the worst of the dreams so far. She thought she was over all of those memories… of her parent's murder… of her own near-death. She swiped furiously at the tears, remembering just how angry those blood-red eyes made her feel. Every time she saw them, she felt them in her mind. HIS eyes…

She turned a little to the right and peered down to find a pair of black, onyx eyes glittering at her with concern and fear. His expression was very pained. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath then sunk back next to her husband beneath the sheets, and snuggled into his welcoming arms.

'Are you alright, pet?' he asked softly, hugging her a little more tightly.

She nodded against his chest and sighed.

'Bad dream, again,' was her muffled response.

Severus stroked long fingers up and down her back in a soothing motion. Soon she became relaxed and her breathing evened out.

'I love you, Hermione,' he whispered into her hair, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

He closed his eyes and drifted into a semi-conscious state, only to be rudely woken an hour later, to the sounds of Hermione crying in his arms. She was quite literally crying in her sleep. Slipping out of their bad carefully, he padded softly to the Potions storeroom with a black, silk bathrobe thrown on, and retrieved a vial with a clear blue liquid inside. He returned to his wife as soon as he could, and coaxed it down her throat without too much effort. Soon enough, the crying ceased, and she rested peacefully. Severus thanked Merlin for Dreamless Sleep. Setting aside the empty vial, he pulled his pajama pants on more securely and fastened the tie on his bathrobe, and silently left for his office. He would not be able to sleep properly now. Hermione had been waking up or simply having awful nightmares lately that had made her very emotional and distressed. He was unsure why she had become like this, and it was steadily growing worse. She never told him what she dreamt about, and the few times he had attempted to use _Legilimens_ on her, she blocked him with _Occlumens_ and remained mad with him for the rest of the day. The crackling noise that the fireplace emitted was the only thing that disturbed his thoughts. He gazed around just in time to see the Headmaster's face appear amongst the green flames.

'Can I help you, Albus?' he asked gruffly.

'May I step through?' Dumbledore asked softly before he entered the office at Snape's nod of the head. 'You seem troubled, Severus. Hermione's sleeping troubles keeping you up?'

'How did you know about them?' Severus asked with a wary look.

'I have been Hermione's confidant every time these nightmares have haunted her for the last three years, Severus. She came to me when she was a student, and she comes to me still whenever this happens. Three years, Severus,' Albus replied with a sad face.

'What is happening in her mind?' he asked, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

'Were you aware that, in five days, Hermione's parents will have been dead for three years?' the older wizard questioned.

A wave of realization washed over him.

'You mean to tell me that she only has these awful nightmares around the anniversary of her parent's death?' he asked in a deathly low voice.

Albus nodded. 'Indeed, only when the date nears.'

Severus sucked in a deep breath and looked the Headmaster straight in the eye.

'Is there anything else I will need to know about my wife's annual grieving habits?' he asked solemnly.

'She always returns to their burial site on the exact date of their murder, and spends the entire day alone at the cemetery. She will probably not tell you that she will be there, however,' he replied.

Severus did not agree with this.

'I can not allow her to go there alone anymore, Albus. She is in too much danger now,' he said carefully.

'I believe that is something you will have to discuss with Madame Snape,' he said, nodding, and leaving through the Floo.

Severus shook his head, and returned to their chambers shortly afterwards, finding his wife still sleeping peacefully beneath the sheets. He would most definitely be discussing this with her in the morning, whether she objected or not. He would not loose his wife to stupidity, and misplaced trust in the security of a graveyard. He knew better than most, that a graveyard was indeed not such a safe place. Sighing, he removed his robe and slid back into bed beside Hermione and closed his eyes. He fell into a light sleep soon after, now armed with the knowledge of her distress.

He woke again five hours later, to find the space beside him void of any human presence, and felt immediately down-hearted. Would she be like this every year? He hated waking up without her next to him or in his arms. But she had been getting out of bed early, bathing, and going to her office to work early. Sighing, he rolled out of the bed and took a shower himself before dressing in his customary black teaching attire, and going to Hermione's office to speak to her before breakfast. He walked straight through, and found her sitting at the desk, quill in hand, writing a whole lot of nothing onto the page.

'Hermione, we need to talk,' he said in a no-nonsense tone.

Hermione looked up at him reproachfully.

'Not right now – actually – not ever, Severus. I just don't feel like it,' she said tersely.

Severus frowned, and spun her chair around so that she faced him. Planting a hand on either armrest of the chair, he looked her in the eyes and saw just how tired she really was. If the dark circles and puffiness beneath her eyes weren't enough of an indicator, then the defeated look in them certainly would have been. She had never had that look in her eyes before.

'Hermione, I know what this is all about, and I understand that it is hard for you, but you must understand. I love you, and I do not like seeing you this way. I want to help ease the pain,' he said sincerely.

'Have you ever seen a monster murder your parents before, and then turn his wand on you?' she snapped irritably.

Severus frowned at her tone, and backed away from her.

'Yes, in fact I have. My mother endured the same fate as your parents, and it was all my fault. I tried to save a Muggleborn witch when I first joined him, and I was punished severely. Consider you position a reprieve from mine,' he replied icily before turning on his heel and storming out of the office.

Hermione let out a heart-wrenching sob and closed her eyes, letting the hot tears spill onto her cheeks. How could she have been so stupid? Of course he had suffered as she had. Worse even. How could she have even questioned him? She had upset him for the first time since their hasty marriage, and he would most likely not talk to her for the rest of the week. Getting out of her chair, she made her way to the castle's hidden doorway, and left through it. She really needed some air. Soon afterwards, she found herself at her spot by the lake. Except it was different this time. Ever since she had been with Severus, they had gone there together when they needed an escape from the dark reality that resided in the castle. This time she was alone, cold, sad, terrified and lonely. She needed him. More than anything else in the world, like air or water. He was her sustenance.

'Oh, Severus…' she sobbed, 'What have I done…?'


	9. Part Nine

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Nine

The parchment was tinged slightly yellow, and had a navy-blue wax seal with the imprint of a crescent moon, and the letters "HS" initialed into it, as well as a serpent. It was a most unusual seal for a Gryffindor witch, what with the serpent and all, but the moon signified wisdom and intelligence. Hermione liked it, and was quite surprised when she had received it. She hadn't realized that she would need a new one, but had been sent one from the _Personalized Seal Emblem Company_ not long after she had married Severus. Her old one had been a red seal with "HG" and a bold Gryffindor lion etched into it neatly along with a strange motto written in Latin that roughly translated to "_Faithful thou shalt be to thine self_". Now it was something different entirely, although still written in Latin - _'Amor Vincit Omnia'_ or something like that. She wasn't sure what it meant, but one day when she had the time, she was going to research it.

Hermione laughed. Only then did she realize that she had spent the last ten minutes musing to herself about her seal. She placed it on the desk in Severus' office, and charmed it so that only he could pick it up. She had not seen him much for days, as she had decided to leave him alone and return to her chambers while he was upset with her. And she knew he was, because he had not gone out of his way to talk to her or reconcile, so Hermione figured he needed some space.

'Take care, Severus,' she whispered into the empty office, kissing the seal of the envelope, and leaving the castle through the hidden door.

It was THAT day, and she needed to go, with or without him. She Apparated to a small orchard in the town where she had grown up and walked the short distance from there into the town. Oddly enough, she was greeted by the smiles and sorrowful nods of those that remembered the "Granger girl, poor dear", offering her condolences and knowing that she would be there every year on that exact date. She finally made it to the edge of the graveyard and made the familiar trek to the marble headstones that bore her parents names. Sometimes she knew that Albus would follow her there and pay his respects also, but she would never let him know that she knew.

'Hello Mum, hi Daddy,' she said to the headstones, or to nobody in particular. 'I'm back again. I can't believe it's been a year already.'

She stared long and hard at the inscription on her mother's headstone…

_Jane Augusta Granger_

_B. 5__th__ May 1958_

_D. 10__th__ February 1996_

"…_Because You Loved Me before the Creation of the World" – John 17:24_

Hermione sighed and felt the sob rising in her throat. She choked it back, determined not to cry as she had done for over a week in her dreams and sleep. She had broken down far too often in the privacy of her room, and she wanted to finish talking to her parents. Somehow, she just knew that they could hear her.

'Oh, Mum, you have no idea how much I miss you!' she whispered into the clearing. 'I have had a very strange year since last time. I did my N.E.W.T. exams early, and I did really well.'

She took a deep, calming breath before continuing on.

'I am doing a Potions Apprenticeship with Severus Snape. Actually Mum, I got married to him. That's right, I'm Hermione Snape now. I am really sorry, but I love him very much, and I thought you deserved to know.'

She turned to her Dad's headstone and sighed, and read it again as she did every other year…

_Marcus Hephaestus Granger_

_B. 21__st__ June 1955_

_D. 10__th__ February 1996_

"_The Lord Is My Strength and My Song; He Has Become My Salvation" – Exodus 15:2_

'Daddy, I hope you heard what I told Mum, because every word of it is true. I wish you both could have been there. It was small and quiet, and not many people know about it yet. I missed the part where my Dad would give me away, but I thought of you. I love Severus very much,' she said softly as the late winter snow drifted about the air and on the ground. 'He's mad at me right now, because I said something stupid. I really didn't mean it, and I was just a bit upset because I have been dreaming about you both again. I told you about the nightmares last time, but it keeps getting worse. Something bad is going to happen, I can tell. But the most important thing is how much I miss you and Severus right now.'

Hermione bowed her head, and slumped to the ground in front of her parents' graves and scrabbled to put evergreen flowers into the vases next to the stones.

'I brought you flowers this winter. I learnt how to charm them to last for a year, until next time I visit,' she explained.

She sat back and stared out absently then, just reminiscing over the short time in her life that she spent with her parents. She remembered laughing and reading with her dad, sneaking tiny sips of his brandy in the evening when he treated himself after returning from their dental clinic in the evening. She remembered sitting and reading as her Mum sewed or cooked dinner. She remembered Christmas, and how she would never spend it with Jane and Marcus Granger ever again. Sighing, she stood up from her seat on the snow-covered ground, and brushed off the snow, now feeling thoroughly damp from the weather. Giving one more look to her parents' graves, she looked at her watch, and was amazed that she had been there for almost the entire day.

'Bye Mum and Daddy. I'll see you next year,' she said quietly.

And that was when she heard the snapping of twigs in the ground behind her. She stood still, and slowly withdrew her wand from its sheathed place in her sleeve and spun around quickly. She opened her mouth to say a quick spell, but was completely unprepared for what she saw. It shocked her so much that she could not articulate the words.

'Professor Cole, what are you doing here?' she asked in bewilderment.

Allegra smiled at her wickedly and pointed her wand at her.

'_Accio Hermione's Wand_' she said, catching it in her hand deftly. 'What do you think I'm doing here, Granger?' she asked coldly, despite the smile.

'Look, Professor, I don't know what you are getting at, but it's not right. Give back my wand and I'll never speak of this to anyone ever,' Hermione said confidently, but the wand stayed in her hand. 'Please, Professor, you don't know what you're doing.'

Allegra laughed evilly.

'Ha! Even if I don't give you the wand, you will not be able to speak against me. I am going to take you to my Master, and he shall reward me greatly.'

'What do you want?' Hermione asked.

'I want Severus Snape. You should know that now. Did you know that your precious master was really a big, mean Death Eater? He doesn't care about Dumbledore; he's just a spy for the Dark Lord. I will give you to my lord and he will give me Severus. You are quite a bounty,' Allegra answered. '_Petrificus Totalus!_'

Hermione felt her body go rigid before she fell to the ground, hitting the back of her head on her mother's headstone on the way down, and passing out promptly. Even as the darkness began to consume her, Hermione's thoughts were of Severus. She closed her mind with Occlumency the last few moments that she was awake, and everything stopped.

Allegra eyed her bounty victoriously. She had captured the Granger girl, and would present her to the Dark Lord. She would have her Death Eater yet. He might have been able to reject her in his office, but he could not refuse an order given by their Lord, and he would give that boon to her if she delivered. She flicked her wand and said, '_Moblicorpus_', levitated Hermione's stiff body along with her into a thatch of trees, and Apparated away to her Lord.

He would be pleased with her this night…

--

The blue wax seal had not been broken, and the letter remained untouched for the entire day. Severus knew exactly where his wife was, and knew that she did not want him. Not then, nor ever, after the way he had been ignoring her. He was angry and hurt. Hermione knew that he had suffered much, yet she saw fit to question that of him. Sighing, he grabbed for the letter finally and cracked her seal, noting pointedly the initials on it. "HS" was the inscription. He smiled in spite of himself at that, and felt warmth course through him at the sign that she was still using the seal she had gotten after she had married him. Perhaps she didn't feel that it was all a huge mistake. Although, he had to admit, their age difference and their haste to marry might have been the reason why they were having issues with one another. He carefully unfolded the parchment and started to read what she had to say then:

_Dearest Severus,_

_I will not be here today, which I should have told you when you asked me a few days ago. I need to take care of some unfinished business with my ghosts and hope that they will release me from the torment that has been plaguing me of late._

_I will be okay alone, and I hope that is enough to assure you that I will be just fine, if you even care about that. I am sorry for what I said to you the other day. I have been meaning to apologize to you for days now, but every time I wanted to, you turned me away. I wish I could have said this to your face, but I will understand if you do not wish to talk to me again. If that is your wish, I shall keep my distance. _

_I will see you tonight at dinner, and I hope that all of your classes go well without me there, which I'm sure they will._

_All of my Love,_

_Your Hermione_

Severus finished reading it and dropped it onto his desk. He could see the tear-drops that had splashed onto the page and ruined the bottom of the page. _Your Hermione…_ She was still his Hermione. He frowned and balled his fists in realization. She was his wife, his love, his Hermione, and she always would be. And he had just pushed her away. She didn't mean what she said to him, and she had been upset when she said it. He had really gone too far and it was his fault that they weren't talking now. Groaning in frustration, he got up from his seat and went to fetch his traveling cloak. He was going to find his wife. He left the castle through the side door and trudged quickly to the forest's edge, Apparating as soon as he could, and finding himself in a thatch of trees near where he knew her parent's grave was. He went to the grave site, and found nobody there. The ever-green flowers were there, which meant she had been there, but there was no sight of his beloved wife.

'Hermione!' he called out in the clearing. No answer.

He went for a short walk around the relatively small graveyard and returned to where he had started, except this time he saw a hint of red in the snow. He looked closer, and found a trail of a lot of blood going from the trees to the headstone of Hermione's mother, where there was a lot of fresh blood splashed on the edge of it. He realized what it was just as the Dark Mark on his arm began to burn. He gritted his teeth together furiously and his eyes flashed dangerously. His wife had been abducted. He knew it was too unsafe for her to go alone. It was her blood…

Pulling up his left sleeve just enough to uncover the Mark, he pressed his wand-tip to it and Apparated to the old house in which the meeting was this time. He only got a brief glance of his location as he dropped to his Master's feet and bowed low.

'You called my Lord?' he asked, blocking his mind that was currently projecting treacherous thoughts.

'Yes, Severus. I believe we may have found a woman fitting of you. She captured your Mudblood slave and brought her here to me without any Dumbledore-supporters being any the wiser,' he said with utter joy.

Severus snarled behind his Occlumency. They had his wife.

'My Lord, what woman could possibly interest me?' he asked carefully.

Voldemort clicked his long, twisted fingers and Allegra Cole was brought forwards, levitating his Hermione alongside. Severus looked at the positively murderous, yet delighted look in her eyes. She was enjoying every bit of this. She had hurt his Hermione, and he assumed that she had asked for him as a boon for her efforts.

'My Lord, I pray you reconsider. I despise this woman. She is unworthy and treacherous, only thinking of herself. She is not to be trusted and will never truly follow you. She serves her own wants only,' he snarled, throwing her a disgusted look.

Lucius Malfoy nodded slowly in agreement.

'I agree with Severus, My Lord. She can not be trusted and her request for Severus as a boon was far too confident. She seemed too sure that she would get him.'

Voldemort looked at both of his most loyal followers with a smile on his face. They had always been right before, and they would not fail him this time. He nodded in agreement with them and clicked his fingers. Allegra Cole soon found herself clapped in irons around her wrists and ankles, flanked by two bulky Death Eaters.

'Avery, Nott. This one is yours for the murder of that Mudblood family last week. Do with her what you will and then kill her. Make sure you put her somewhere that she will be found, and ensure that all see her Mark. She will die without honor, the filthy slut,' Voldemort spat.

Two masked Death Eaters moved forwards and kissed the edge of their Master's robe before taking their reward and leaving the scene. Severus and Lucius kneeled before their Lord.

'What is to happen with the Mudblood, my Lord?' Lucius asked.

The Dark Lord turned to look at Severus, and spoke.

'Severus, take her with you back to the castle. Heal her and _Obliviate_ the memory of her capture and everything after it. She is no use to our cause dead,' he said in a high-pitched voice. 'That stupid woman nearly cost us our source.'

Severus nodded and stood, but was halted by Lucius.

'With your permission, my Lord, I will go with Severus,' he said quietly.

'Granted, assist him with the Mudblood's healing,' was the reply.

Severus went over to Hermione's unconscious body and lifted her into his arms after removing the body binding curse to lift her properly. Lucius grabbed onto his arm, and they Apparated to the Forbidden Forest. It was dark already, and made it easier for them to sneak back to the side door of the castle. Before they could enter, Severus was stopped by his companion.

'Severus, I know it might be too late to tell you this, but I did not rape any of the Muggles on that day that I was forced to torture you. Our Lord was furious with the Death Eater's that injured you without permission, and they were punished.'

'Why are you telling me this?' Severus asked.

'Because I need your help,' the slightly older, blonde man said desperately.

'What do you need that I could possibly give you?' he asked, opening the door and kicking it closed behind them both as they walked through the halls.

'I need protection; I need to get away from that madman. He is insane. I cannot believe I never saw it before. If we stay with him we will die. I can not leave my family like that. I love my wife and my son,' he said frantically.

Severus said the password to his chambers, laid Hermione on the bed and began healing the wounds on her head, while Lucius healed her broken ribs.

'Would you be willing to be tested with Veritaserum?' he asked.

'Yes.'

Severus nodded and sighed.

'Come back in two days. By then, Hermione will be healed and we can work out the details together,' he said.

Lucius nodded, and left Severus alone with Hermione. He kissed her forehead, and cradled her now-healed body. She looked deathly pale, and it would be a few hours until she woke up. He felt like the biggest of fools…

--

The curtains were drawn around the bed, which was unusual. They were the first thing Hermione saw, and she felt immediately alarmed. If it were not for the pounding pain in her head, she would have sat up, but it just hurt to even open her eyes. She tried to look around as much as she could from her position, but gave up and decided to test out her vocal cords. She cleared her throat, and then opened her mouth.

'Severus!' she called as loudly as she could, feeling the tears beginning to blear her vision.

A short moment afterwards she heard the door open and someone enter the room. The curtains were pushed aside, and she found Severus and Lucius Malfoy leaning over her. She was about to scream, but thought better and clenched her jaw.

'You called, love,' Severus replied, sitting next to her on the bed.

Hermione blinked and was sure that she was seeing things. Lucius Malfoy was smiling, and sitting on the bed next to her and her husband.

'What is HE doing here?' she asked with a curious look.

Severus shook his head and smiled.

'Lucius has joined the Order of the Phoenix as a spy. He made a Vow with Albus,' he explained.

Hermione visibly relaxed when she heard this and reached a hand up to her husband.

'What happened? All I can remember is being at my parents' grave, and then I remember a woman, and then darkness and nothing,' she said softly.

Lucius decided to speak then.

'You were captured by a rogue Death Eater and taken to the Dark Revels. She knocked you out and bound you before offering you to the Dark Lord in exchange for Severus as her boon. The Death Eater in question was raped and killed for treachery to our lord,' he said carefully.

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth.

'Oh no, that's terrible,' she began, but stopped short of her next comment when she remembered the Death Eater's face. Allegra Cole. 'It was Allegra Cole,' she said weakly.

Severus nodded, and lifted the pillow with her head laying on it, to rest over his legs instead.

'Her "murder" and rape was in yesterday's _Daily Prophet_. They found her body in the centre of Diagon Alley. Lucius is replacing her as the Defense professor,' he explained. 'You needn't fear being abducted any longer. The Dark Lord has promised to keep you safe from the rest of the Death Eaters. He believes you to be of value.'

Hermione sighed in relief. It had been one of the worst feelings. She vaguely remembered what was said between her and Allegra, and certainly remembered the pain she was in after her fall.

'Oh, thank Merlin! That was painful enough the first time,' she said with a smile.

'It would have been. You had a fractured skull and several broken ribs as a result of the initial fall, and further torture by the looks of things,' Severus said, handing her a vial. 'Drink this; it will get rid of the headache.'

'I don't remember mentioning a headache, Severus,' she said, accepting the vial and downing it quickly.

Lucius smiled from his spot on the bed.

'Severus didn't need to be told. He's a genius. Much smarter and more practical than I ever was,' he said with a chuckle.

Hermione laughed softly also and wriggled into a sitting position. Leaning back against her husband's chest, and snuggling into his arms. Lucius stood up and went to the door, bidding them goodbye, and respectfully leaving the couple to reunite properly without an audience. He would need to do the same as soon as he got Narcissa to the castle with him. Hermione closed her eyes and rested her head on Severus' shoulder.

'How long have I been unconscious for?' she asked quietly.

'Four days,' he replied solemnly.

Hermione eyes flew open again.

'What day is it today then?' she asked frantically, spinning around to look at her husband's tired face.

'It is Saturday, and I have been teaching and checking on you every so often. I was so worried, Hermione. I thought I'd never see you again,' he said, bowing his head slightly in a gesture uncharacteristic of him.

She touched his face, and made him look at her again.

'I'm back, Severus. And I am never leaving you ever again,' she promised, kissing the end of his nose gently.

Severus gathered her into his arms and hummed in contentment.

'Gods Hermione, I love you,' he murmured.

'I love you too, never doubt that.'

They both just sat there holding each other for the longest time, taking from each other and giving back in return. It was a fair and effective give and take system that they had kept from their earlier days of acquaintance. It was hard to believe that they had been married for just over a month, as it was now the beginning of spring, the beginning of March. Hermione moved her head slightly, and began to nibble at his lips gently before pressing her lips to his firmly and kissing him to make up for all the time they missed when she had been troubled, and while he had been upset, not to mention her being unconscious for half a week. Severus deepened the kiss and accepted this as her apology, and poured his own into the kiss.

If anything good could be said about fighting, then it was definitely the make-up sex that came after the arguments. Soon, both of them had removed their cumbersome clothing, and were lying naked in the sheets. The sweat was making their skin gleam, the rhythmic pounding of him slamming into her body as she cried for more, and their final release together that drove them over the edge.

'I love you, Severus,' she said. 'We should do this more often,' she added offhandedly.

Severus chuckled, and gave a shallow thrust alerting her to the fact that they still remained joined.

'I believe we are still "doing this"' he said, grabbing her hips and slowly rocking into her with and building up the tempo again.

After their second release, they both crawled out of the bed, and Severus drew Hermione a hot bath, climbing in behind her only when she was comfortable. She sighed and rested on Severus as he soaped up her hair and body, washing every crevice, making sure to fondle her breasts and tease her lower lips.

Afterwards, they switched positions and Hermione washed his hair and body also, rubbing his flagging interest, and deciding to finish the job and stroking up and down his hardened shaft until he found his release.

'Hermione, you know you're not supposed to do that,' he said once he regained his breath and stroked her cheek.

'I know, but I wanted to,' she said with a pout.

Severus lifted himself from the tub and dried off with a towel.

'I believe it is lunch in the Great Hall soon. We shall be expected there,' he informed her. 'Albus and I decided to let the Professors know of our marriage, and as predicted, Minerva went berserk.'

'Oh no!' Hermione exclaimed, climbing out of the tub, and allowing Severus to dry her with a fluffy white towel.

'Oh yes, and she demanded to see you at once. We then had to tell everyone that you were ill and resting, but Albus brought Minerva down here to see you because she is an Order member,' he said. 'Everyone else was fine though.'

Hermione laughed.

'Has anything else happened?'

'Potter and Miss Lovegood visited together and sat with you, as did Draco and Miss Weasley, who we had to tell for the sake of peace,' he replied.

Hermione laughed at that.

'I am never going to live this down, am I?' she asked as she pulled on a bathrobe.

Severus pulled her flush against him and kissed her swiftly.

'Never.'

They dressed together in companionable silence, and entered the hall together to be greeted by a fairly enthusiastic staff table. Hermione was dragged away from Severus by Poppy Pomfrey and Aurora Vector, who insisted she tell them all about the wedding, while Severus was badgered by Flitwick. Hermione caught Dumbledore's eye through this, and both erupted laughter at the table. It was going to be a good week…


	10. Part Ten

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Just to let everyone know, this was originally written back in 06-07 so this is just the edited version, that I am gradually reposting on . There are a few minor time-line changes and some things have been mixed-up a little to make the story feasible. Sorry if you thought this was new :)

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Ten

There were always times in people's lives when they felt extremely low and self-pitying, and it often feels like the bad outweighs the good. But the few times in life that things are really grand, are remembered and cherished forever. As Severus watched Hermione wandering around the classroom assisting and teaching her seventh year students, he knew that that was one of the grand and cherished memories, and that he would carry the image of her around with him for the rest of his life, however long it was.

She flashed him the briefest of smiles as she stopped with Harry and Draco to "help" them with their potion, which the two were perfectly capable of completing. Smirking, he stood from his seat and decided it was about time to make a little mischief in the classroom. He stopped just behind Longbottom and Weasley and looked over their shoulders, examining their potion. It was actually looking rather good.

'Mr. Longbottom, I had no idea that you were capable of such a normal explosion-free potion,' he drawled sadistically.

Neville jumped when he heard the familiarly silky voice, and accidentally dropped the ingredient he had been chopping into the potion whole. Smiling in satisfaction, he left the two boys with a now over-boiling potion for the other side of the classroom. Ron threw him a dirty look out of the corner of his eye, and tried to help Neville stop the potion from spilling onto the floor and burning through the desk. When things got too out-of-control, Ron was forced to shove his hand into the air and ask for help.

'Madame Apprentice, we need your help!' Ron called frantically.

Hermione rushed over to help them and waved her hand over the potion, and banished their spoiled work out of the cauldron and off the desk, leaving everything spotless.

'All right, go and get fresh ingredients and start again. I'm afraid you'll both have to come back for an hour tonight to make up for the lost time,' she said with a sigh. 'Don't worry; it's not a detention, just to save you time.'

'Yes, Madame Apprentice,' Neville said hastily for both him and Ron.

Hermione nodded.

'Good. Be back here around eight this evening and we'll try and right your potion.'

She left them then and chanced a look at Severus in the back of the classroom. She had not been watching him much this lesson, and when she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes, as well as the smirk that tugged at the corner of his mouth, she was sure that he had something to do with that. Frowning, she glared at him. She would be discussing this with him as soon as class was over.

When the class was over, she told them to pack up, and once they had all left, she looked to see if her taciturn and house-prejudiced husband was still lingering in the classroom. She saw that he had fled, and decided to go look for him. She walked into his office and spied him by the fire, leaning against the mantle with his arms folded across his chest and a smile playing on his lips.

'Severus, what was that about in class today?' she asked seriously.

'What about class, love? Everything was fine. You taught well today,' he replied, walking towards her, leaning down and capturing her lips in a distracting kiss.

Hermione started to kiss him back, but after remembering that she was supposed to be interrogating him, she pulled away.

'Oh no, Mr. Squiffy. You're not going to distract me this time,' she said, putting some distance between them.

'I didn't hear you complaining a moment ago,' he replied coolly.

Hermione gave him a rueful look and frowned.

'I'm being serious, you. What did you do to Ron and Neville's potion today, and don't try to deny anything. They've been doing perfectly fine all year, and then they suddenly screw-up this lesson. You're behind it, mister.'

'All I did was go over to Mr. Longbottom to compliment his improvement,' he answered as a half-truth.

Indeed, he had gone over and complimented the boy, but with every intention of doing so to shock the boy into messing up the potion. He knew very well that his presence near the boy when he was brewing always got the effect of causing the boy to drop something or add the wrong ingredient.

'Really?' Hermione asked with a speculative eye.

'Is that so hard to believe?' he asked back silkily, eyes never leaving his wife's coffee-colored depths.

'Sometimes I wonder,' she said, not completely convinced, and turning to leave his office. Just when she reached the door she turned back and smirked at him. 'In any case, even if you didn't have anything to do with it, I am punishing you.'

Severus raised a surprised eyebrow.

'What is it to be then wife? Detention?' he asked, visions of a kinky detention rendezvous entering his mind.

'Absolutely not, Severus,' she answered with a grin. 'Actually, you do remember that I have to tutor Ron and Neville this evening, don't you?'

'Yes…' he replied slowly.

'Well, that just means one whole hour less play time for you, doesn't it?' she said with a wicked grin before slipping out of the office, and leaving him with a shocked look on his face.

Severus didn't see Hermione until dinner then, and even then, she didn't talk to him. Actually, she entertained herself with talking to Lucius and Narcissa, who were on the other side of her. Severus ate his food in silence, only occasionally speaking to McGonagall, who only seemed interested in Hermione's progress, before tiring of her incessant chatter and glancing out of the corner of his eye to see his wife eating a dish of chocolate mousse in a most taunting and teasing fashion. He smirked in spite of himself at her cheekiness. She was getting better at teasing him every day, and she knew just how to get him, and when. That afternoon had only just been a taster of what mischievousness his witch was capable of. He knew that somehow he was going to enjoy that evening very much.

Hermione excused herself from the table as soon as she was finished eating to prepare for her evening of tutoring before she could return to her thoroughly teased husband for what she knew would be a night of teasing for her actions earlier. She knew her wizard all too well, and she knew that when he was taunted – well – he gave as well as he got.

A little while after she arrived in the classroom, a cheerful-looking Neville and a grudging Ron entered the classroom with their books, and the tutoring began. The two boys worked efficiently under her tuition and were soon at the same stage as everyone else. By that point, she told them to pack up, clean up, and have a nice evening, and prepared to leave herself.

'Madame Apprentice, can we talk please?' Ron asked as she locked and warded the classroom.

Hermione smiled at him in spite of the way he had been acting for the entire school year and nodded, leading him to her office.

'You can call me Hermione outside of class, Ron,' she said with a reassuring smile.

Ron nodded, and sat in the chair she gestured towards and sighed.

'Hermione, I'm sorry,' he said in a low voice.

She paused for a moment in wonder, trying to figure out if he had seriously just said those three words. Standing, she went around the desk and hugged him around the shoulders as he sat in his chair.

'I forgive you, Ron. But I really think you owe an apology to Ginny, Harry and Draco more. You were mad at them when you didn't need to be,' she said quietly.

Ron stood and gave her a tight hug before releasing her and going to the door.

'I think I'll do that. Thanks, Hermione,' he said quietly, leaving.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and joy. Ron was back, and he seemed genuinely sorry for being such a prat. Smiling, she went to her chambers, and found Severus in his study. Deciding to leave him be for a bit, she took a shower and dressed in a simple cotton nightshirt, with a lace-up front that went down to her waist, and decided to leave that mostly untied. It wouldn't hurt to taunt him just that little bit more.

She stood in the doorway to the study with her arms folded beneath her breasts, and smiled wickedly.

'Come to bed, love,' she said seductively to her husband.

He looked up at her and smiled at her attire.

_Such a tease_… he thought as he crossed the room to kiss her.

--

The door closed with a satisfying click and the oak finally closed out the dull grey of the dungeon hall. Hermione let out the breath she hadn't even realized she was holding as she slumped against the sturdy wood. She had just bid her farewell to Ron after having invited him to lunch on that fine Sunday afternoon, and was relieved to see him out of there. She had accidentally neglected the few personal belongings Severus had left in her chambers the few times that they had returned there for the evening, and apparently had left it in, of all places, the sitting room. She saw the Slytherin alumni trademark silk bathrobe draped over the back of the lounge, and the black slippers, and the coffee mug with the two 'S's painted onto it.

She had let Ron in, saw it all there, and had to distract him in the kitchen before she could finally go back and remove it all from sight. Luckily, he had been too dumbfounded at being in her chambers for the first time to really bother noticing. Sighing deeply, she sunk into one of the comfy armchairs and rubbed a hand over her tired eyes. She was still aching in far too many places for her comfort, and was sure that her joints had ached like that before her abduction.

'You look tired, love,' whispered a silky voice from beside her.

She opened her eyes and gazed adoringly at her husband from beneath her lashes.

'What are you doing in here? I thought you had research to do,' she asked, stretching her arms out to him.

He took her hands and pulled her out of the seat easily, clutching her to his chest and snaking strong arms around her waist.

'I finished up for the day and thought I'd come and check if Mr. Weasley was finally gone. That boy is insufferable at best,' he said haughtily, with all of his regular sarcasm.

Hermione gave him a reproachful look.

'That boy just happens to be one of my best friends, thanks,' she snipped, trying to push him away.

'I know, Hermione, I was just expressing my own feelings for the termagant, not yours,' he said, bending down to capture her lips in a slow kiss before she could argue with him further.

'You're trying to distract me,' she murmured against his lips, although not really objecting to the attention.

'Yes,' he hissed into her mouth before returning to the delicate task of devouring it as his hands slid inside her robes and caressed her hip through the fabric of her blouse. 'But you already knew that, manipulative witch.'

Smiling, she pulled away, slowly ending that oh-so-good kiss, and walked to the other side of the room, collecting the empty plates and depositing them in the kitchen, then slumping against the bench. She closed her eyes, and took a few moments to recollect the little energy that she had left when she heard her Floo connection activate before loud, frantic voices sounded in her sitting room. Opening her eyes, she made it to the other room fast and found Severus and Albus standing and talking in whispers. Albus looked worried, and Severus was wearing his mask of indifference, although she could tell that his eyes were fearful.

'What is going on?' she demanded quietly.

Severus turned to her and walked to her side, holding out a hand and taking hers in his own as he did.

'There had been an attack at the Ministry of Magic and five people have been sent to St. Mungo's with spell damage and trauma,' he explained. 'There were four Death Eaters there, and Arthur Weasley was one of the victims.'

Hermione gasped, and fell into her husbands embrace immediately, burrowing her face into the front of his robes.

'Is he badly hurt?' she asked softly.

'He was found passed-out, but as far as the Healers can tell, he seems to have suffered the least damage,' Albus answered from beside them as Hermione felt tears making tracks down her face.

The Weasleys were like her second family, and really the only ones she had left now, apart from Severus.

She pulled back and looked at the Headmaster.

'I need to go see him. Do Ron and Ginny know yet?' she said, accepting the comfort Severus offered at the same time.

'Mr. and Miss. Weasley have both been alerted of their father's state, and will be Apparating to St. Mungo's directly. If it is your wish to go also, I can arrange it so that you may Apparate,' he replied calmly.

Hermione looked up at Severus and saw the understanding look in his eyes. He nodded, and she smiled weakly at him, and then impulsively decided that she wanted him to be there with her.

'Come with me, Severus?' she asked.

Snape felt his chest ache at this and simply nodded. How could he deny her anything? She was his life, after all, and he would do everything in his power to ensure her happiness.

'Headmaster, is that alright with you?' she asked Dumbledore as she released Severus from her hold.

'Of course, Madame Snape, that is entirely within reason' he answered graciously. 'But I suggest that you leave immediately, and return as soon as possible.'

Hermione nodded and took Snape's hand, and dragged him towards the door. Turning back, she was able to catch the Headmaster as he left.

'Thank you, Professor,' she said, opening the door, and allowing her husband to lead the way.

They took the short cut and Apparated at the edge of the forest, appearing somewhere in a damp alleyway just outside of St. Mungo's before rushing immediately inside the dusty, run down-looking shack and appearing in a hospital reception. They were directed to Room 23B on the fourth floor, and when they rushed there and peered through the window, they saw seven of the Weasleys in the room surrounding the eighth member, still passed out in the bed.

'Hermione, love, if we go in there, they are all bound to find out about us,' Severus whispered into her ear. 'Do you mind if they do?'

She turned to look up at him and simply smiled.

'They deserved to know a long time ago, Severus,' she replied. 'They are the closest thing I have to family, and I love them all very much. I am not ashamed of you, or my decisions.'

His heart was warmed greatly by this, and he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles gently.

She leaned up and forwards, pressing her lips against his for a slow, loving kiss before pulling away with a satisfied smile. 'I love you so much,' she said, kissing him again.

'And I you, dear heart,' he replied, pulling away and nudging her to move into the room, still holding her hand.

Ginny was the first to see them enter, and noticed their hands clasped together, and saw Hermione's wedding bands and engagement ring. Her eyes widened and she pointed at them, but Hermione simply shook her head, brought his hand to her lips and kissed it gently. Ginny smiled and nodded, beckoning them over.

'Hermione, you're here now, dear,' Molly Weasley exclaimed with a sob.

Hermione released Snape's hand went to Molly, enclosing the motherly witch in a tight hug. But she had not let go fast enough to escape the notice of Charlie, Bill and the twins, who were giving her strange looks. Ron seemed to be the only one oblivious to that exchange. Once Molly Weasley let go, she smiled at the strange looks she was receiving and simply returned to Severus' side, taking his hand in hers again. This time Mrs. Weasley and Ron did notice as well as the others.

'Hermione, Severus, I think we will need an explanation,' Molly said curiously, eyes fixed to the spot where their hands were connected.

This time it was Snape's turn to speak.

'Molly, I know this may all seem quite sudden, but this is not a new development,' he explained carefully in a lowered voice. 'Hermione and I have been married for a few months now.'

At that point, Molly fainted into Charlie's arms, and she was dragged to the nearest seat and fanned by Ginny. Bill seemed to be unaffected, Fred and George were laughing at Arthur's bedside, but Ron was simply standing there with a sheepish grin on his face.

'Ron, are you mad?' she asked carefully.

He shook his head and gave her a hug, and both she and her husband sighed in relief…

--

Over the week that followed the tragic Weasley incident in the Ministry, the attacks just continued to occur. There were at least a dozen cases filed in the Ministry archives, with plenty more minor occurrences that were left to the Junior Ministry officials to deal with while the aristocrats bickered over what step should be taken next. Severus had been called away from the castle by his other master five times during that week, leaving Hermione to teach classes and worry for him alone. He had just been called away that evening, and Hermione had locked herself up in their chambers and refused to see anyone until he returned safe. Harry had attempted to get through to her, but she just wouldn't hear any of it. She wanted her husband back, and she wouldn't sleep until he was.

After hour upon hour of relentless pacing, Hermione finally sat on the couch, and burst into tears. She wept until she thought she'd choke, and didn't even hear the door to their chambers open. When Severus stumbled through the door quietly, and saw Hermione sitting on the couch crying, he felt his chest ache for her. He peeled himself out of the Death Eater robes and discarded the mask, grateful that he didn't have to actually participate in any of the activities. That was the benefit of being in the Dark Lord's favor. He walked over to her, but she still didn't seem to notice him, and so, he sat beside her, and wrapped his arms around her. She looked up in surprise, and when she saw his face, she threw her arms around him and breathed a sigh of relief.

'Severus! Oh god, you're really back!' she cried, angrily brushing the tears away and peppering his face with kisses.

'Did you expect otherwise?' he asked calmly.

'I was beginning to wonder,' she answered truthfully. 'I have been worried sick actually, but I'm glad I was wrong.'

Severus raised an eyebrow.

'Do you have such little faith in my promises, wife?' he questioned, and smiled when she shook her head in reassurance. 'I promise that I will never leave you alone.'

She hugged him and kissed his lips gently, until he pulled away and sighed.

'Unfortunately, my love, there are far more serious matters at hand that have to be attended to first,' he said apologetically when she pouted. 'The Dark Lord has set a date, and I need to alert the Order and speak to Lucius.'

'He – he has decided the day of the… when he is to begin the war?' she stammered as she began to stand.

'Yes.'

Hermione nodded, pursing her lips and running a hand through her hair.

'When shall we expect to… ummm...' she trailed off, figuring he got the point.

'In exactly five days,' he answered gruffly.

She went to the fire and grabbed a pinch of Floo powder, opening up the network once more and throwing it into the fire.

'Go get cleaned up, Severus. I'll go tell the Headmaster, and we'll organize an Order meeting for tomorrow,' she said with a small half-smile.

'Then you'll come back down?' he asked.

'I might not. I think I'm going to see Harry and Ron about this. They deserve to know before the rest, and I haven't spent much time with them this week,' she explained anxiously.

He nodded, somewhat sadly, but turned to walk towards the bathroom and do as he was told.

'Very well then, I shall go and see Lucius about this,' he said dejectedly before opening the door.

Hermione bit her lip, and stopped him, tugging on his sleeve to make him face her, and hugged him tight around the chest. She leaned up and kissed him hard on the mouth, nipping on his bottom lip and teasing him into the kiss. He eventually responded, so she pulled away and kissed the corner of his mouth once more before caressing his cheek lightly.

'I love you, Severus,' she whispered against his lips before kissing him again chastely.

'I love you too, my wife,' he replied, brushing an errant curl behind her ear, and kissing the pulse point just below there gently.

She stepped into the green flames and called out for the Headmaster's office, and whirled away, leaving Severus very much on his own. He stripped off his clothes and stepped under the stream of water, letting it flow over his head and down his back. He washed his hair and body thoroughly, and dried himself off quickly, dressing in trousers and a black shirt, tucking it into his pants and rolling the sleeves to his elbows. After tying his hair back with a black tie, he Flooed to Lucius' office and knocked on the door to his chambers.

'Severus, you've heard then,' Lucius said when he saw the serious expression on the taller man's face.

'Don't be daft, Lucius, of course I've heard. You were there too then, I suppose,' Severus said when his blonde friend invited him in. 'What does Narcissa think of it?'

'She was asleep when I returned,' he replied, offering him a seat and a glass of something that he assumed was Firewhisky.

Severus set the glass aside.

'Lucius, you know I don't drink this damnable drink anymore,' he grumbled.

'So your wife was awake then you returned, hmmm?'

'What can I say, she is – well, I don't even know how to explain exactly, but she really is a brilliant one. She didn't even panic when I told her,' he said with a reminiscent smile.

'I suppose she was a little afraid, but after the initial shock, she was so…'

'Confident?' Lucius suggested.

'More than that,' he replied proudly.

'She's sounds like a Gryffindor,' Lucius said with a smirk. 'Unfortunately for me, Narcissa is bound to take it badly. She always did.'

'My sympathies,' Severus said with a grin.

Lucius looked pensive for a moment and stared into his fire, taking a gulp of his Firewhisky.

'Has Dumbledore been alerted? And Potter?' he asked, looking over to his friend.

Snape smiled up at him, something he had noticed happening a lot more frequently since he had seen Severus with Hermione.

'Why, yes, I do believe that Hermione has alerted Albus, and that the Order meeting will be tomorrow,' he said smoothly. 'She's telling Potter, Weasley, and most likely your son at this very moment.'

'That's good. I…' Lucius began, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.

He set down his drink and opened it, and a frantic-looking Harry and Draco burst into the room, eyes wide and apologetic.

'Professor Snape, you need to come with us!' Harry said quickly.

'What is the meaning of this, Potter?' he demanded as he stood.

'It's Hermione!' Draco said immediately. 'She sort of passed out when she came to see us. We took her to the Hospital Wing and came straight here to find you.'

'Oh God,' Severus muttered as he pushed past all three blocking the doorway, and made haste out of the office and towards the Infirmary.

He went as fast as he could down the hall, and finally reached it, banging through the doors. He went straight to where he saw Madame Pomfrey emerge from, and quickly thanked the matron for caring for her, even though the woman herself seemed quite confused as to why Snape was thanking her. He went in through the curtain surrounding her bed and found Hermione laying there, propped up on pillows, looking pale and clammy.

'Hermione, are you alright?' he asked, kneeling next to her bed, and taking one of her small hands in both of his.

She nodded, and smiled wearily.

'Severus, I'm pregnant…'

'You – you are?' he stammered helplessly, getting up to sit next to her on the bed.

She lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it gently in confirmation.

'I am, and we're going to have a little girl,' she said with a grin. 'Are you mad?'

'Not at all, love,' he said kissing her knuckles and smiling, heart swelling with joy.

She was alright…


	11. Part Eleven

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A/N – I do apologise to everyone who read the originally uploaded version of this chapter. I had accidentally uploaded and posted the wrong version.

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

--

Part Eleven

Albus Dumbledore gazed at all of the people in the room over the half-moon spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. He sighed, regretful that any of the young people in the room had become involved in the war. He was sad that anyone had to be exposed to such evil times. But Tom Riddle needed to be silenced, and there was only one way that it could be done. Taking a deep breath, he began.

'It is grave news that I must impart to you this night. Tom Riddle has risen to such a height that he plans an attack four days from today,' he said somberly. 'We must now prepare, for I fear that this will be the final battle.'

Dumbledore listened to the gasps of the Order members and sat back in his seat to wait while they discussed this revelation. He saw that Harry, Ron and Draco had remained silent and contemplative along with Ginny and Luna Lovegood. Nearby, Hermione was sitting with Severus, Lucius and Narcissa, heads bowed in silent, whispered conversation.

'We need to alert the Ministry to ensure they properly ward the main buildings from invasion, and to have them release their team of Aurors to us,' Lucius whispered tactfully.

'That might take a little convincing,' Hermione said quietly.

'Don't worry about that. Lucius has many connections in the Ministry, and they seem promising enough,' Narcissa reassured.

Hermione simply nodded and rested her hand on her husbands' leg, and gave it a thoughtful squeeze, as he hadn't said a word yet, and she knew that he would have something to tell them. He always had a plan.

'Severus now might be a good time to tell us what you're thinking,' she prompted boldly.

He nodded, taking her hand from his leg and holding it in his own gently.

'We need to ensure that everyone in the room is equipped with all of the commonly used shield and defense charms as well as some offensive. We may need to use unforgivables, because they certainly will, and won't go easy on us just because the side of light doesn't use the harsher of wizarding spells,' he said quietly.

'I had a feeling it would come to that eventually,' Lucius agreed.

'The Minister for Magic in Bulgaria is a… friend of mine, and owes me a favor also. I believe I could convince him to send a team of Aurors and Unspeakables,' Snape added offhandedly.

'As do I in France,' Lucius prompted.

'The Order has managed to grow quite a bit, and although some of them should not have to be involved in this, I fear we may need every resource we can get,' Severus said, looking at his wife with sad eyes, but a relatively hard facial expression.

'You know I have to do this,' Hermione whispered for his ears only, and he nodded, keeping his face neutral.

'I do, love,' he whispered into his ear.

'There is no way to plan any of this, but I know that Hogwarts is the main target for him this time. He is determined to take the school first, and then the Ministry will follow suit shortly after,' Lucius said loud enough for the whole room to hear. 'We can't plan too much, but we need to be ready for him to strike us.'

'What of us then? How do you expect the Order to do this alone?' asked Mad-Eye thoughtfully.

'Daft old man, we have Aurors and Unspeakables from the Ministry, not to mention France and Bulgaria at our expediency. And Albus could easily contact the Ministry in the States and ask for assistance,' Severus snapped.

'Severus, don't be like that,' Hermione hissed under her breath. 'This is hard for all of us. We can't all be expected to come up with brilliant ideas like you can.'

He seemed to calm when she said that, and he bowed his head in retreat from the conversation.

'I need to get out of here,' he muttered, standing and striding purposefully from the Grimmauld Place kitchen, up the stairs.

Hermione didn't move because most of the Order members did not yet know of their marriage, and those who did had been asked to keep it quiet. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Harry standing by her with an encouraging look on his face. He bent down low to whisper.

'Hermione, go after him. I'll cover for you,' he suggested, making her smile at him.

'Thanks Harry,' she said as she stood and hurried up the stairs also.

When she reached the top, she rushed out of the house and saw Severus just ahead of her, walking purposefully in the direction of the park to Apparate, arms crossed around him. She ran to catch up and caught the sleeve of his robes and tugged to get him to stop. He looked down at her a little and dropped his arms, taking her hand in his and pulling them both along into the cover of trees.

'I'm going to Apparate us somewhere, but I need you to trust me,' he said quietly, wrapping his arms around her body lovingly.

'You know I do,' she answered immediately.

He smiled a little and cupped her face gently in his hand before he leaned down and kissed her on the lips gently.

'I love you, dear one,' he said smoothly.

'I know you do,' she replied cheekily, kissing him on the cheek teasingly. 'And I love you, Severus.'

Once the word had left her lips, they Apparated together and soon found themselves just outside a lovely cottage. She reached out with her magic and could sense that there were very powerful wards on this house, and felt a lot of Severus' power as part of the wards. This was his house then.

'Where are we?' she asked, bemused.

'This is Finberg Cottage. We're in the French countryside, just for now,' he answered. 'I needed to come here for a place to think for a few hours, but I'm glad you came here with me.'

She smiled and moved out of his arms, walking up the pebbled garden path ahead of Severus. He smirked at her and followed, and soon they were both inside sitting in the small office with him at the desk with parchment and quill, and her sitting on the floor as together they configured some sort of war tactic. After a few hours, they gave up and went through each other's work, finding a way to combine them, making something more solid to take back and present to Dumbledore.

'I think we should get back, Severus,' she said tiredly, rubbing her eyes. 'We can't stay away here forever.'

'You're right, but I find myself unwilling to leave at the moment,' he said, taking one of her hands in his own lovingly, stroking over her smooth skin with the pad of his slightly calloused thumb.

'Me too, but be realistic,' she said, standing and collecting the paper together.

He stood reluctantly and took the pile of paper from Hermione, holding out a hand for her to take as they returned to the horrors that they left behind for that short time. He would make sure that he could bring Hermione back to this place one spring, later. It always looked nicer when there were lots of wild flowers in the fields. He Apparated them both to the gates of Hogwarts, and together, they made their way up to the castle to report to Dumbledore and explain their absence. Once inside, Snape stopped Hermione with a hand on her shoulder, knowing that she was tired, just from the look in her eyes.

'Go to bed, my love. I'll follow shortly after I give these to Albus,' he said softly.

'Alright,' she conceded, nodding and heading to the dungeons.

Snape went up the stairs and soon found himself by the gargoyle guarding the Headmaster's office, and he said "gumdrops" before he was allowed in and the staircase spiraled him up to the top of the tower in which Dumbledore's office was enclosed. He reached the door, and had reached out to turn the handle and enter when he heard voices from within, and decided that it would be more polite to knock.

'Come in!' Albus' voice called out.

Snape opened the door, and walked in to find the recovered Arthur Weasley, Molly and Minerva seated around the desk in comfy chairs.

'Ah, Severus, we were wondering where you got to,' Albus said with a small smile.

'Well, as you can see, I am quite fine, and just came to deliver what Hermione and I were working on,' he said simply.

'Wonderful, come on inside,' Albus beamed.

Severus sighed and stepped inside. It was promising to be a long night…

--

The sound of thunder and lightning split the air with a violent roar as the rain continued to pour on the battleground. The war was not done yet, and while it had been many hours since the beginning of the confrontation, there were still people struggling on both sides in an attempt to gain or regain control of their world. Severus had very much been tossed into the main throng of the fighting, forced to battle it out with the Lestranges, who had always insisted on working as a team. If Hermione had not spotted him on time, he would have fallen long before.

As chance would have it, he got through that duel mostly unscathed, thanking his wife profusely for being at his side. She simply gave him a weary smile, and moved on to help others who were struggling. And that was when he saw the bastards. Avery and Nott were closing in on his Hermione as if she were a piece of meat, licking their lips and holding their wands toward her. Shit! If he didn't get there soon, she would be lost. He ran as fast and quietly as he could, dodging flying curses and wandlessly casting a Full Body Bind on the weaker of the two, obviously Nott, for he was famous for his brute force, not his speed with a wand or quick wit. That was Avery, the cunning and deceptive little bastard.

'Crucio!' Severus cried out, bringing the man to his knees before he could attack Hermione, who had turned around to see what had happened, but averted her eyes when he told her to.

He pointed his wand at the man writhing around on the ground, wondering if he should torture the man further before letting him die of shame. He wondered also what would have happened if he had just killed him then and there, saving him from having to suffer Azkaban or his de-humanization by the Dementor's Kiss. He decided against the second option, choosing instead to just get it over and done with. He was going to enjoy killing the bastard. He released the man just long enough for him to have a decent modicum of thought before jabbing the wand against his temple and sneering.

'If only you had used your brain, you wouldn't be on the other side, fighting to lose."

'What are you going to do to me, Snape?' he asked in a cold, nervous voice with a hysterical tinge to it.

'I am going to kill you, only because I will not torture my victims to death before killing them in cold blood,' he replied darkly. Why do I have the job of keeping them in line?

'Then do it, Snape!' he spat with a terrible smile. 'Do what a coward does and kill me without dueling me properly.'

Snape raised his eyebrows to the challenge and his lips thinned unpleasantly.

'Do you really think that you can tempt me, Avery?' he sneered harshly, pressing the wand tip harder into his temple. 'There is not a hope in hell. _Avada Kedavra!_'

There was that familiar flash of green light emanating from his wand before the man's eyes became lifeless and empty. Severus stood to his full height, narrowly missing a misfired hex, and looking around to find Hermione still in heated battle with Nott. Apparently the oaf of a man had practiced, and was not as much of a buffoon with a wand as he had once been. But he knew too, that Hermione could beat him blindfolded and hands tied behind her back.

'Finish him off, Hermione!' he bellowed, ducking to miss a curse and turning on his next opponent.

This man was still wearing his entire Death Eater regale, and was seemingly unscathed as of yet, only a tear at the bottom of his robes. Snape eyed the costume in disgust and began to walk around him slowly, eying him as a hawk eyed his prey. This man looked strong, but Severus was stronger.

'Well, well, if it isn't Severus Snape. I always had feelings you were a traitor to our Lord, I just couldn't bring myself to believe it,' the man said in a rough, over-used and heavily accented voice, his hand clutching his wand tightly in a gesture that belied his confident tone of voice.

'Show your face,' Snape demanded. 'Or are you to cowardly to proudly display your loyalty to your Lord?'

The other man chuckled evilly and lifted a hand to his mask, unbuckling it and tossing it aside and revealing the all-too familiar face of the famous Bulgarian Quidditch star, Viktor Krum. Snape knew that he shouldn't be so surprised, with the accent and the poor pronunciation of English words. Naturally, the boy was a dark figure, a lot more muscled and bulky than an few years before, still bearing his sharp features, but this time, his eyes were cold and devoid of any happiness. It was as if the happy, adored Quidditch star had decided to take a vacation, and the thug that replaced him currently inhabited the body, all under Voldemort's command.

'Krum,' Snape growled crossly. How couldn't he have seen this?

'Snape, you 'ver alvays trying to prove worthy of our Lord, yet you make mistake of betraying him,' Viktor said in his broken English. 'You will now die a traitor, and wander your afterlife with the Mudblood filth we exterminate for our Lords' purpose.'

'How long have you been a Death Eater?' Snape hissed.

'Oh, many years now, before the Triwzard Tournament,' he answered in a classically evil voice.

This boy was such an amateur at being evil and cruel or intimidating. But Snape thought about that fact, and the fact that he had just called Muggles filthy and dirty creatures in the dark, Death Eater way.

'Do you mean to tell me that you were just using Hermione, you bastard?' he asked furiously, his blood beginning to boil in his veins. This was his wife. 'You mean to say that you used her to get to Potter, and made a fool out of her shamelessly?'

That brought a smirk to the man's lips.

'What concern of yours is it, Snape?' he asked in a calculated and soft tone that spoke volumes.

There was no point in trying to hide anything from this ruthless Death Eater so her squared himself and stared at him past his long nose.

'Why I thought you knew everything, Krum. Hermione's my wife,' he said in a voice that was obviously full of pride and love for his witch.

The shocked look on Krum's face was worth it though.

'She married you? You married a Mudblood?' he asked, mouth gaping open. 'You betrayed us and married a Mudblood whore as well?'

'Yes, I married a beautiful, intelligent and talented witch,' he replied simply. 'But this is hardly the sort of chatter for a battlefield. _Crucio!_'

Snape sneered in disgust as the man fell to the ground, his wand at least a foot away from where he was doubled-over, writhing in pain in the mud. He could torture this man, for all of the things he had ever said or followed or done. He was worse than scum, and deserved every bit of it for his Hermione. He would pay for using her like that, for daring to use a woman that way at all. He watched as the man twitched and roared out in pain, his voice becoming hoarse and high-pitched from the pain. Snape laughed in a disturbing way, looking down at his victim.

'Did you really think that I would be easy on you, Krum? That I would be fair and give you a chance to fight back?' he asked in an amused tone. 'I will tell you now that I am not a fair man, and that I too, learned to play dirty in my Death Eater days.'

'You bastard!' Viktor shouted through his trembling.

'Yes, Krum, I am well aware of the fact. And now you shall meet your maker! _Avada Kedavra!_' he shouted, silencing the man for good.

He panted heavily, looking down at the lifeless body in disgust, willing the images of the younger man torturing his wife out of his mind. He was almost calm again, when he heard a high-pitched shriek coming from the direction that Hermione had been. He whipped around instantly, his robes snapping against his legs, just in time to see Hermione fall to the ground on her knees with a wand against her temple and Bellatrix Lestrange standing triumphantly before her. Snape swore violently in his mind and pointed his wand towards the older woman, aiming well, for he only had one shot while the bitch would be preoccupied with having her last victory crow.

'_Expelliarmus!_' he roared against the loud rumble of the storm raging around them.

Bella was knocked across the field hard, before slamming against a tree and promptly passing out from impact. He would deal with her later. For then, he just had to get his wife out of danger while she was injured. She had a deep laceration across her cheek and looked as though she would faint, and there was no telling how many other injuries she had received, as she was as covered in mud and rain as the rest of them. He ran to her as quickly as he could. Catching her from falling face-forward into the mud just in time, he held her up and close to his body before hoisting her into his arms to carry her away from the battlefield. She looked at him with weary and hurt eyes, but they seemed to still convey her love for him just as they would any other day.

'Hermione, my love,' he whispered, leaning forward and kissing her forehead.

'Severus…' she murmured weakly before passing out.

Apparating them quickly, his last thought was that Potter could handle himself enough to take care of Voldemort. Severus had more important things to take care of…

--

Morning light filtered through the flimsy white curtains. All evidence of the rain from the night before was a mere memory, and the clouds had virtually disappeared with the late spring sky blue. Opening an eye cautiously, Hermione had to shut it again and squint hard to stop it from stinging. She would have to let her eyes adjust. Her head was pounding and making her want to cry out from the pain. What on earth had happened to her?

Slowly, she attempted to open her eyes once more, finding success this time, and seeing only white curtains surrounding what appeared to be a rather large, single hospital bed. Usually that meant only one thing to her. She had somehow managed to get hurt again, and Severus was going to scold her. Then it hit her. He wouldn't be scolding her; she had been injured the night before in the battle. She remembered that the last thing she saw and heard was Severus, who had called her his "love".

Sighing softly, she turned her head to the side, to see said tall, dark and handsome wizard fast asleep in the uncomfortable looking chair next to her bed. She knew those awful chairs and knew immediately that she was in the Hospital Wing. How was it that she always managed to get stuck in that place?

'Hermione?' asked as soft voice from hisseat.

She turned back to her husband and saw him smiling at her sleepily, leaning on the arm of the chair to hoist him out of the seat and lower him onto the bed beside her, taking one of her hands. She smiled weakly at him and bit her bottom lip for a moment before closing her eyes, and tugging him to get on the bed with her. She wriggled over as best she could, and patted the space beside her, indicating that she wanted him right there for the time being.

He acquiesced and snuggled up next to her on the bed, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her body tight against his. She sighed in contentment and rested her head pillowed on his shoulder, letting one of her hands wander to his hair and stroke the silkiness of it gently.

'Severus, I love you,' she said quietly.

'And I you, my sweet, wonderful wife and mother-of-my-child,' he replied in kind, making her laugh softly. He knew that this was making her tired. 'Go back to sleep, my love.'

'Will you be here when I wake up?' she inquired in a slightly worried voice.

'Of course I will,' he promised.

'Good,' she muttered as she drifted off again.

When she woke a few hours later, it was not so bright when she reopened her eyes. She could think more clearly then, and realized that if she was in the hospital wing alive, it meant that they hadn't lost the battle. Severus was alive too. Speaking of which, where had he gotten to again? Hadn't he promised to be there when she woke up? She heard the curtain rustle a little, and saw said man enter with a tray of food.

'Sorry, pet, I thought you'd be hungry when you woke up, so I went to get you breakfast,' he apologized.

At that moment, she finally heard her stomach's protest, and felt it rumble and speak to her angrily, demanding the delicious food he had brought her. He was so easy to forgive when he was being so wonderful to her.

'Thanks, love,' she said, as she picked up a fork and instantly began attacking the sausages the way Ron would have if he were there at that very second.

'Not a problem,' he replied, sitting back on the bed and picking up a piece of generously buttered toast and nibbling on it thoughtfully.

Severus couldn't help but to watch her as she ate her food. Even when hungry and merely stuffing her face, she managed to look as graceful and elegant as ever to him. He enjoyed seeing her face light up at the thought of nourishment. He enjoyed seeing her sleepy eyes change to ones so alive and joyful. They had been so busy and caught up with the war that he had not had any time to appreciate the wonderful things that made his wife who she was. She was truly amazing.

'What happened, Severus?' she asked suddenly, as she started on the yoghurt. 'You haven't said a word about the battle."

'We won, my dear,' he said slowly, with barely-contained excitement. 'We didn't loose too many, but the losses were important ones. You will be distraught to find out just who,' he added.

'Tell me.'

'Hagrid, Nymphadora Tonks, Lee Jordan and George Weasley,' he began slowly, his voice hitching especially at the mention of the younger Weasley twin. '… and we lost….the youngest Weasley boy.'

Hermione's spoon dropped onto the tray with a loud clatter against the dishes, as Snape moved to remove it from her lap. He returned to his spot and took the shocked Hermione into his arms, and held her close, waiting for her to realize exactly what he had said. It wasn't until she began to sob that he knew that she understood his meaning. Ronald Weasley, one of her dearest and most beloved friends had fallen. He should have taken care of Bellatrix properly before he left. It wouldn't have happened otherwise.

'Your friend fought valiantly all the way up to the end, never backing away from a challenge. You'll be glad to know he grew up on the battlefield. He fought and died a man, Hermione,' he said softly, stroking her hair as she sobbed hard into his shirt.

She sniffed, and trembled, not lifting her face away and clutching him to her desperately, not wanting to let go, fearing that if she did, she would loose him too. She could loose another – not any more. Snape, meanwhile, held his crying wife, rocking her gently until she finally fell asleep again, just before the sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. He stepped outside the privacy curtain, leaving it open just enough so that he could monitor her as he greeted the guest.

'Professor Snape, how is she?' Harry Potter asked apprehensively.

'She's upset, to say the very least, but there isn't much that can be done for that. She was most upset when I told her about Ronald Weasley,' he replied, glancing at her sleeping form. 'Only time will heal that wound.'

'I know where she's coming from,' Harry said with more than a hint of sorrow in his voice. 'I miss him already.'

'I can only imagine,' Severus replied knowingly. 'He was your first friend, was he not?'

Harry nodded and wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to block out the feeling of anguish.

'My first and very best, other than Hermione, and the reason why Hermione and I were even friends was because of something rude Ron said,' he said with a sad chuckle.

Severus frowned in decision for a moment before holding a hand out to Harry. Hermione would want him to be supportive and kind to her friends, and he knew that he could do at least that for her, only in private. Harry accepted his hand with an odd, questioning look on his face.

'Sir?' he asked.

'I think it would be acceptable if you called me Severus - in private, for now,' he said quietly, noting that the boy had a disbelieving look on his features. 'You are still my student, after all, and your N.E.W.T's aren't for another week, and your graduation two after that.'

'Thank you, Severus,' Harry said, half-stumbling over Snape's name.

'Not a problem, boy. Now you should go down to the Great Hall with the rest of the students and have dinner. You look like you need it,' Severus suggested kindly.

Harry nodded and smiled slightly. 'Right, but you should too. You look like you need it more,' Harry returned. 'But if you stay, give Hermione my best, will you?'

'Of course,' Severus said simply, holding his tongue from snapping at the boy for being impertinent. 'Now, move along.'

He watched as Potter left, and closed the curtain once he was out of sight, and the Infirmary door closed. Sitting himself in the chair beside Hermione's bed, Severus pinched the bridge of his nose, willing away the on-setting headache and the nose bleed that was threatening. It had been a very long, trying day, and he had been through more than ever before with Hermione and her friends than he had ever expected to. Who could honestly have said that he would end up married to the woman he had always dreamed of, with the war as just a thing of the past, and himself finally beginning to reconcile with the Potter line? Not anyone that had known Severus Snape before his marriage to the beautiful, intelligent and cunning witch slumbering in the bed beside him. He smiled then and gazed at her lovingly.

She was all his, and they were going to live happily together in a world where they were free to love and have a family. He was going to have a proper life and family…


	12. Amor Vincit Omnia

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

A/N - Sorry to all of the readers of chapter 11 who pointed out the beta comments to me. I accidentally uploaded and posted the wrong one.

Kudos go to Alliean for beta-ing this for me.

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Part 12 - Amor Vincit Omnia

_Two Years Later…_

A fresh gust of wind rustled the dark cream curtains and swept the scent of wild flowers through the window. Summer was a delightful time of year, and the summer vacation for Hogwarts staff and students alike was at its peak. It had been just over two years since the defeat of Voldemort and his followers, and while many brave people on the side of good had been lost to the darkness, the rest had to learn to live on without them. It had taken Hermione quite a while to learn this, but she had progressed so far.

Every summer since the fall of darkness, Severus had brought Hermione to his large cottage in the French countryside for a holiday. They had both enjoyed it together so much that he decided that it would be prudent to continue doing so.

Severus walked out and sat on a green hill nearby the cottage and watched as his beautiful wife walked through the tall grass and wild flowers with their daughter, Emma Jane, in her arms. Emma had been born the day before Christmas seven months after the fall of the Dark Lord, and was almost two years old. She had inherited his pitch black, straight hair, but possessed her mother's lovely looks, and especially her nose.

'Severus, come out here and dance with us!' Hermione called out merrily, her voice drifting over to him in the wind like a bell.

He smiled and stood, making his way to his two ladies and wrapping them in his arms tightly.

'But what shall we dance to, my love?' he asked as he nuzzled Emma's cheek with his nose, making her gurgle with delight.

'The music of the wind, Severus,' Hermione replied, handing their daughter to him easily and leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. 'Can't you hear it? It's singing us a love song, my dear.'

He chuckled at that, and supporting Emma with one arm, he wrapped the other around Hermione and drew her close to them, swaying them gently to the breeze and letting her hug him around the middle and rest her head on his chest. He sighed contentedly, and lazily took them around in circles. When he felt Emma grow drowsy and fall asleep in his arms, he finally moved away from Hermione, and indicated they return to the house silently so that they didn't wake Emma up.

When their daughter was finally tucked away in her bed, they went to the sitting room together with a book, and Severus sat on the couch sideways with Hermione between his legs, resting mostly on his chest so that they could read together.

'Severus?' she asked softly.

'Yes, Hermione?' he replied quietly.

'Do you want more children?' she asked suddenly.

He closed the book and put it aside before pulling her further up him, and spinning her around to face him on the seat.

'Why do you ask, my love?' he asked, with more than just a little curiosity.

'Because I was thinking that it was nice having just Emma,' she answered with a sheepish smile. 'I don't think we need to have a house full of kids to be happy like the Weasley's. I know it sounds selfish, but I like being the three musketeers.'

'Exactly my sentiments, darling,' he said warmly, leaning forwards to kiss her soundly, cupping her face in his hands gently and pouring out his love for her.

She pulled away smiling, and curled into her husbands chest, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. This was all she had ever wanted, and more – to be loved and married to the man of her dreams, with their little girl, and on holiday in France. After all, when they returned after the summer, she would have to go back to her work in the Department of Experimental Potions and Curses.

It wasn't the most brilliant job, but she had only been working there for six months, as soon as Emma was one, and it was challenging to an extent. Besides, she only had to work there for a year before she would have a good enough recommendation to be transferred to an important Ministry Department. After the war, she had been offered an immediate place as the Head Healer in St. Mungo's, but had turned it down, insisting that she would work for the job and earn her way to that position. So, in six months, she would be there anyway. But it still made her feel better to know that she earned it instead of getting there just because she was a war hero.

Severus had been offered a place in the Department of Mysteries as an Unspeakable also, but he too had turned it down, insisting that he would stay at Hogwarts until the end of his contract, which had conveniently just ended at the end of the school year, only a few weeks earlier. So, he would be moving to work as an Unspeakable at the end of the summer, and the new Potions professors, Draco and Ginny Malfoy, would be taking over the Junior and Advanced classes.

Harry, as expected, had gone on to do Auror training, and was working in that department in memory of Ron, who had aimed to be an Auror once too. Hermione was so proud of the man Harry had become, and was delighted when he and Luna had finally decided to get married only two months before. Luna had gone on to follow in her father's footsteps and became a journalist for the _Evening Prophet_. Severus still called it a pile of Thestral crap, which never failed to earn him a slug on the arm from Hermione, but made them both laugh.

'Hermione?' he asked softly from outside her thoughts.

She turned and looked up at his face, gazing meaningfully into his eyes, letting him see her love for him. 'Yes?'

'I love you,' he said with a small smile.

'And I love you,' she said, kissing him lightly before getting up and closing the window to stop them from catching a chill as the afternoon breeze became cooler.

He heard a gurgling sound from the bedroom, and sighed as he watched Hermione leave to attend to their daughter. She was right; they didn't need any more children to make their lives wonderful. They had the most magnificent baby girl that any parent could wish for, and he had never felt so complete before. He heard the two of his ladies return from the other room, and opened his arms out to receive Emma as Hermione handed her to him.

'Okay, now you be good for daddy while I go get dinner ready,' Hermione crooned to the beautiful, brown-eyed little girl, kissing her on the end of her cute nose. 'And you be a good daddy to Emma,' she added, kissing Severus on the nose too.

Scowling, he swatted her on the bum proprietarily as she fled from the room, giggling, and leaving him alone with Emma. He smiled as he bounced Emma up and down on his knee gently.

'You're going to be a genius, one day,' he murmured as he watched Emma reach out for the book he had set aside earlier.

He retrieved the book and held it open, cradling Emma between his thighs and holding it open for both of them to see as he read to her. It was never too early to begin educating his child. She would be the brightest witch in her year, no doubt. Hermione, meanwhile, watched this whole exchange from the kitchen doorway, smiling at her husband and daughter. He was a wonderful, generous father, a loving husband, and a passionate lover – everything she had ever admired in a man. She mused that her parents would have loved him, had they been alive to ever meet him.

Sighing, she set the timer on their dinner cooking, and silently snuck around to the study and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment. Grabbing ink and a quill she penned a short note to Harry and Luna, inviting them over for dinner later in the week. She hadn't seen him for a while, and she had no doubt that he would want to see his goddaughter. She signed off, and folded it neatly before dropping a bit of navy-blue wax on it and pressing her seal into it. She admired the strange seal, then, and remembered that she had meant to find out what the strange motto had meant on it. She put the letter down, and summoned her copy of Latin mottos and searched for the English translation. When she spotted it, she knew that it was truly meant for her.

_Amour Vincit Omnia_ – Love conquers all…

It had been there in front of her the whole time, and she hadn't even noticed it. If it weren't for love, she would not be as happy as she was at that very moment. If not for love, Voldemort would never have been destroyed. If it had not been for love, Harry would not have been saved as a baby by his mother's unconditional and never-ending love for him. She had never really noticed just how great an impact love had on her life. She had been through it all with her husband, and they had never stopped loving one another. It was also a true miracle that Emma was born of, and was a symbol of, their love for one another. Love really did conquer all for her, and it seemed that love would never stop blessing her for as long as she lived.

She left the study and went to the sitting room, then, spying on her wonderful husband and adorable little girl, grateful for every good thing that had come from the bad. Severus looked up at her as he read to Emma, and smiled.

'I love you, Hermione,' he said adoringly.

She walked over to him immediately, and kissed Emma on the head, and him soundly on the lips.

'I love you too, Severus Snape,' she replied.

End.


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